May 29, 1998 - The Minnesota Zoo is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend. The "new zoo," as some of us still call it, stretches over five hundred acres in Apple Valley, and now boasts over twenty-thee hundred animals, over a hundred of which are endangered species. Jim Streeter is the Zoo's conservation manager. He says protecting these endangered species is a vital part of the zoo's mission: Jim Streeter is the conservation manager for the Minnesota Zoo which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend. There are a number of events for families going on this weekend, including a special exhibit featuring fr
May 29, 1998 - Today was the last day of school for kids on the Red Lake Reservation, and it could be the start of one of their last long summer vacations. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson explains from Bemidji, the Red Lake School District is proposing a year-round school schedule... Less than 20 percent of eighth graders in the Red Lake School District passed this year's statewide tests in math and reading -- well below the statewide average of around 70 percent. Superintendent Roger Schmidt says switching to a year-round school schedule would raise those figures, and he's hoping to convince the rest of the community to back the change. Like a growing number
May 29, 1998 - As part of the “Voices of Minnesota" series, this program features MPR’s Gary Eicthen interviewing Hy Berman, University of Minnesota historian. Topics include his personal life, the tobacco trial, politics, and University of Minnesota.
June 1, 1998 - Bill Linder-Scholer and Laurie Peterman of Sci-Math Minnesota discuss test results in which Minnesota 4th graders did well internationally on the International Math and Science Study. Linder-Scholer and Peterman also answer listener questions.
June 1, 1998 - It's a free book--so it'll never become a best-SELLER, but gubernatorial candidate Ted Mondale hopes a lot of people read it. Mondale released his 130-page book called "A New Commitment to Minnesota's Families" today, in which he outlines his plans for the first four years of a Mondale administration: DFL gubernatorial candidate Ted Mondale. The DFL state convention starts this Friday, tune in to Minnesota public radio for live updates on what promises to be a lively endorsement process.
June 1, 1998 - The American Association of Retired Persons' national conference gets underway in Minneapolis tomorrow. The three-day convention is expected to draw some twenty thousand seniors and there's a special focus on baby-boomers this year. For most of us, our first contact with AARP comes about six months before our fiftieth birthday. Commentator Susan Vass explains: Comedian Susan Vass lives in Maplewood. Her next show is a benefit at the Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul Sunday June 14th. "Get High-High-High with Laugher" celebrates 18 years in the comedy business.
June 1, 1998 - Comparing American business with Chinese, Japanese, and Russian businesses.
June 1, 1998 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports on severe storms that rolled through the state the night of May 30th. The storms dumped hail in central Minnesota and roared through the Twin Cities, snapping trees in half and downing power lines. One particularly hard-hit area was South Saint Paul, with 80 mph winds measured.
June 1, 1998 - The Church of St. Louis, King of France (aka “The Little French Church”) in downtown St. Paul introduces its brand new pipe organ. The organ is the centerpiece of a campaign to renovate the church, which was designed by French architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray in 1909. The architect also designed the St. Paul Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, but Masqueray called the Church of St. Louis his 'little gem'...and church officials say the new organ will be its crowning jewel.
June 1, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger reports on Aitkin County farmers experimentation in establishing cranberry bogs for harvesting. Cranberries take deep pockets and sturdy patience; but now, after three years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Aitkin County bogs are ready to produce.