December 8, 1998 - ******for Tuesday, Dec. 8 morning edition.***** A long- disputed proposal to build a 3-storey high metal shredder on the banks of the Mississippi in Minneapolis will go before the the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency today. American Iron and Supply Company wants to build the "Kondirator" at the company's riverside scrapyard in a north Minneapolis neighborhood. The fight over the project dates back to the late 1980's. Now, PCA staff members have recommended approval of the Kondirator, despite vocal opposition by the city of Minneapolis. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
December 8, 1998 - The Kondirator metal shredder proposed for the Mississippi riverbank in Minneapolis took a step forward today. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizens Board voted unanimously to give the project the necessary permits without further environmental studies. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. Neighborhood residents are concerned about emmissions, noise, and dust from the shredder. The city of Minneapolis opposes the 3-storey metal shredder and took the issue to court more than two years ago to force the MPCA
December 8, 1998 - MPR’s Martin Kaste reports that Governor-elect Jesse Ventura says he intends to keep working in the entertainment business, even after he takes office. Ventura is in the process of closing a deal to tell his life story in a ghost-written autobiography. Ventura calls it a "standard" book contract, and he says he doesn't think he's cashing in on being the governor-elect.
December 8, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger reports on how various retailers are adjusting to a warm winter in the region. It’s nightmare weather if you sell snowmobiles or downhill skis for a living…but not bad if you prefer bicycling, or fishing from a boat.
December 8, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman talks with Ilean Her, director of the state’s Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, about Hmong community leaders release of a proposal seeking state dollars to help Minnesota's South-East Asians population. Several recent tragedies in the Hmong community prompted the initiative which will be presented to the legislature. It calls for mental health, education, violence prevention, and self-sufficiency programs.
December 10, 1998 - A new poll by MPR and the Pioneer Press indicates most Minnesotans do NOT want Congress to impeach President Clinton. 62 percent of respondents say impeachment is the wrong course of action. 19 percent say Clinton should be impeached, but NOT convicted... Only 14 percent say the President SHOULD be convicted -- and thereby removed from office. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste has more: On the streets of downtown St Paul, the attitude is one of general disgust with Clinton -- but disagreement over the appropriate punishment. (street bkgrd sfx) ((CHARLES: I don't know if I can't trust him, b
December 10, 1998 - It has taken 7 years but a former pornographic bookshop in Minneapolis, is now a community theater..... opening it's first holiday show. Some of the actors now performing were once outside on the sidewalk protesting against the store. The Central City Theater-- on the corner of 4th and Lake was once known as the Lake Street Bookstore-- but it's now part of what the city hopes will be a turnaround of troubled Lake Street. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky reports.
December 10, 1998 - An advisory panel is expected to tell lawmakers today to scale back the state's high school graduation requirements. The committee of educators and business people has been studying ways to imrpove the controversial "Profile of Learning"...and subjects like art, music and physical education might not make the cut. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire... The state's plan for helping Minnesota students succeed after high school was simple: set up statewide testing to make sure students were learning the basic skills...then create a system to measure how well students could demonstrate what they've learned. These higher standards, known as the Profile of Learning, ignited a firestorm of controversy. Complaints range from
December 10, 1998 - It has taken 7 years but a former pornographic bookshop in Minneapolis , is now a community theater opening it's first holiday show. Some of the actors now performing were once outside on the sidewalk protesting against the store. The Central City Theater-- on the corner of 4th and Lake was once known as the Lake Street Bookstore-- but it's now part of what the city hopes will be a turnaround of troubled Lake Street.
December 11, 1998 - An advisory panel is asking legislators for a major overhaul of the state's high school graduation standards. The committee of business people and educators wants to scale back the controversial Profile of Learning...eliminate state performance guidelines...and require 11th graders to pass a test before earning a dimploma. But some members of the committee say it slashed the program without knowing whether it was working. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reports... The Profile of Learning is the state's system to measure how well students apply what they've learned. Students are required to meet 24 performance standards in 10 broad subject areas. Critics call it a bureaucratic mess that's difficult to understand. The committee that's been stud