March 6, 1998 - When the nation's largest red meat processor shuts down a packing plant in southwest Minnesota later this week it will hurt more than the employees. Farmers who sell cattle to the IBP plant in Luverne are worried too. Some say the situation underscores complaints that the few remaining meatpackers are too powerful. Mark Steil of Mainstreet Radio reports: Slaughtering plants shutdowns are becoming a common experience in southwest Minnesota and across the border in Iowa and South Dakota. Last year a Campbell Soup chicken plant in Worthington and a hog processor in Huron South Dakota closed.
March 6, 1998 - Beads, broken glass, stones, bottle caps...not what you usually think of when you think of art. But these ordinary objects have been transformed into colorful, extraordinary sculptures and paintings by midwestern folk artists and are on display at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson Wisconsin. There's a six-foot tall replica of syrup-huckster Mrs. Butterworth, a chandelier made of bottle caps and creatures of concrete decorated with broken china. The show "Passionate Obsessions" was curated by Loris Connolly who took us on a tour of the exhibit.
March 6, 1998 - The flood of 1997 set records all along the Red River of the North. The river rose to levels no one alive has ever seen. The high water caused billions of dollars in damage, but it also gave flood fighters some valuable insights that may help their communities and communities across the country fight future floods. In the final part of our series on the flood of '97, Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Gunderson examines what lessons were learned.
March 9, 1998 - Veterinarian Kate An Hunter answers listener questions about dogs and cats and other small animals. She is a veterinarian at Carver Lake Veterinary Center.
March 9, 1998 - Midday continues a second hour with veterinarian Kate An Hunter, who answers listener questions about dogs and cats and other small animals. She is a veterinarian at Carver Lake Veterinary Center.
March 9, 1998 - Officials in the Iron Range town of Cohassett consider a loan tonight intended to prevent the eviction of a St. Paul-based manufacturer of a product called "Stonite". The new company has run out of money and has yet to produce the granite-like product. The plan would provide $300,000 in short term financing from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board and the Minneapolis Police Association. Minneapolis police and firefighter pension funds have each already invested $5-million in the project, and that has raised questions about whether public pension plans should invest in high-risk projects. Minnesota Public Radio's Perry Finelli reports.
March 10, 1998 - Mark Seeley, University of Minnesota meteorologist and climatologist, answers listener questions about the weather. Topics include El Niño, and the warm winter.
March 10, 1998 - Midday continues a second hour with Mark Seeley, University of Minnesota meteorologist and climatologist, who answers listener questions about the weather. Topics include weather guide, ball lightning, and weather cycles.
March 11, 1998 - Some state lawmakers say Northwest Airlines misled the Legislature last year when it asked for a change in a Minnesota law. The change could save the Airline from paying out millions of dollars in a lawsuit. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: Joseph O'Donnell, a bankruptcy trustee in Portland, Maine, says Northwest Airlines misled the Minnesota Legislature last year to defend itself from a $30-million dollar lawsuit in Maine. He says Northwest convinced the Legislature to change a Minnesota law in a way that would make it easier for the airline to defend itself -- but the airline never told legislators about the lawsuit... even when they made a point of asking. O'Donnell says the airline used the state legislature: ((30:43 What I object to, is Northwest's attemp
March 11, 1998 - If you don't pay you don't play. That's the message Minnesota home schoolers say they've been getting from public schools when they try to enroll their kids in school-run sports programs. The K-12 funding bills approved by the House and Senate include requirements that schools charge the same price for home schoolers as enrolled students to participate in sports and other extra curricular activities. However, some home schoolers are worried this might actually reduce access for their children. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.