May 11, 1998 - Stephanie Coontz, Professor at Evergreen State College in Washington, speaking at the University Center in Rochester as part of the Visiting Scholar Series. Coontz speech is on challenges of family and work. She is the author of the popular books The Way We Really Are: Coming to Terms with America's Changing Families and The Way we Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap
May 11, 1998 - It's an old argument with a new twist. Which is more important: economics or the environment? As new technologies have emerged, some people criticize the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for favoring the economics of new ventures, and ignoring the serious environmental questions posed by emerging industries. All this week we will look at specific cases ... including animal feedlots, expanding potato farms and a new ethanol plant. In some cases, the concerns center around how a variety of state and federal agencies work together, or do not, to protect our environmental resources. We begin our series of reports, with an issue that's received a lot of attention recently. Opponents of large livestock feedlots say the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has ignored health problems created by those operations. They're especially concerned with air pollution. This spring for the first time the MPCA documented hydrogen sulfide emissions from a hog farm which violated state law. Opponents call it vindication, but wonder if the MPCA will take vigorous action to bring the feedlot into compliance. Mainstreet Radio's Mark Steil reports:
May 11, 1998 - MPR’s Dan Olson reports on a Minneapolis intersection once known for crime getting a big lift with the opening of a mercado, or marketplace. The city's burgeoning Spanish-speaking population is one of the factor's behind the creation of the business. Residents are welcoming the unusual development as the latest sign of economic revival on Lake Street.
May 11, 1998 - Gubernatorial candidate Mike Freeman appears to be maintaining his lead in the race for the DFL party endorsement. This weekend Freeman won two more DFL straw polls, at the party's 3rd and 4th Congressional District conventions -- which represent Minneapolis's southwestern suburbs and the St Paul area. About HALF the delegates polled indicated they're backing Freeman, with second-place finisher Skip Humphrey scoring about 37 percent. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste has more: Attorney General Skip Humphrey wore a big smile, walking into Saturday's DFL conventions -- ((SH: Let me just say this is a beautiful day today in a lot of ways!!))
May 11, 1998 - Tobacco companies say one of the reasons they settled Minnesota's tobacco lawsuit was their view that they couldn't get a fair trial here - they argued the jury and judge were biased against them. A statement from RJ Reynolds said the court's rulings favored the state, and, quote, "placed a loaded gun to our head". The judge in Minnesota's tobacco trial found his name in the news nearly every day for the past four months - his every word heavily scrutinized as he presided over what might be the most high-profile case in Minnesota history. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum looks at Kenneth Fitzpatrick's reputation and judicial style.
May 11, 1998 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on a highway dedication of James Wright’s poem “The Blessing.” It was written after a ride with his friend Robert Bly as they pulled their car off the road and encountered a pair of horses.
May 11, 1998 - In the wake of Minnesota's 7-billion dollar settlement with the tobacco industry, Blue Cross Blue Shield could face its own lawsuit. Some policyholders are considering filing a class-action suit, to force the insurance company to return its share of the settlement to people who paid premiums. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... Under the terms of Friday's settlement, tobacco companies will pay Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota nearly 470-million dollars over five years. The state's largest health insurer says it will use that money for smoking cessation programs and research into tobacco prevention.
May 11, 1998 - The State Board of Education has given final approval to the most contentious piece of Minnesota's new high school graduation standards. "Profile of Learning" is a blueprint all students must follow to graduate from high school, beginning with the class of 2002. The new results-oriented standards mean significant changes in public schools statewide. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports... State education officials have been working on the new graduation standards for years, but the past six months have been the toughest, as legislators tried to delay or scrap the changes. The Profile of Learning w
May 12, 1998 - Kate Trewick, assistant commissioner of the Department of Children, Families and Learning; and State Senator Larry Pogemiller, chair of the Senate K-12 Budget Committee, discuss the newly approved graduation standards called "Profile of Learning." Trewick and Pogemiller also answer listener questions.
May 12, 1998 - (use THIS ... corrected TIME) Gubernatorial candidates from all three major political parties declared open season on the state's $7 Billion tobacco settlement today (TUESDAY). The candidates criticized the deal's financial structure, as well as what they consider the "excessive" fee for the state's lawyers. But the real target was the DFL front-runner in the Governor's race, Attorney General Skip Humphrey. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: The critics' main theme today was attorneys fees.Prominent Republicans have been grumbling for months about the potential for a huge payout for Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, the private firm that handled the state's case; now DFL gubernatorial Mark Dayton has joined in. He says enriching the lawyers seems to be the settlement's first priority.