March 6, 1998 - MPR's Amy Radil reports on Minnesota Opera’s Opera Ventures program. Where a venerable art form like opera is placed in the hands of eleven and twelve-year-olds, anything can happen….and that's just what's been happening on the stage of the Hibbing High school auditorium with the production, "The Diner Blues."
March 6, 1998 - A new light rail system for the Twin Cities is very close to becoming a reality -- perhaps closer than it's ever been. The State Senate yesterday (THURS) approved $49 Million dollars for a line linking downtown Minneapolis to the airport and the Mall of America... and today (FRI) key House members indicated they'll probably do the same. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports on how the LRT project got this far -- and what obstacles remain: So far, supporters of the Hiawatha corridor light rail project seem to have played all their cards right at the state capitol. They were careful to link the project with money to study other rail projects for the suburbs, which helped build support from non-urban legislators and even some Republicans -- who generally favor spending as little money this year as possible. St Louis Park Republican Jim Rhodes says this project crosses all kinds of boundaries:
March 6, 1998 - The Minnesota House of Representatives has voted to slow the implementation of new graduation stadards for public schools. The delay is a compromise aimed at heading off attempts to drop the so-called "Profile of Learning" standards, scheduled to take effect this fall. State education officials say schools could get more time to prepare, but the new academic requirements won't go away. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports.
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.