December 23, 1998 - It's a word that makes many lawmakers cringe, but talk of stadiums will be back before the legislature in 1999 session. A task force appointed by Governor Carlson is asking lawmakers to create a new commission to fund sports stadiums and arts venues. Legislative leaders and the Governor-elect are skeptical.
December 23, 1998 - Everybody seems to be on the move at the state capitol these days: in the House, the new Republican majority is swapping offices with the Democrats... while Arne Carlson's staff members are cleaning out their desks to make way for Jesse Ventura. The calm spot is the Senate, where DFL Majority Leader Roger Moe continues to run things as he has for almost two decades. As Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, Moe's experience puts him in a unique -- and potentially very powerful -- position. If things had gone according to DFL plans, Roger Moe would be getting ready to move into the Lieutenant Governor's office about now. Instead, the Humphrey-Moe gubernatorial ticket came in third, and Moe is looking forward to his 19th consecutive year as Senate Majority Leader. What's surprising is how upbeat he sounds about the prospect:
December 24, 1998 - FOR DEC 24 ATC Imagine you're a celebrity musician. New cars, nice clothes, fans stopping you on the street for autographs. Then, war changes everything. You're forced to leave your homeland with little more than the clothes on your back, and you end up in Minnesota working at a bakery. That in a nutshell is the story of Alexsander Pavolic (PAV low vick). Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. audio . . . ambience Pavlovic family smiles as bright as light bulbs greet visitors to the their small apartment in Brooklyn Center. Coffee is served, there's a little conversation. But Alexsander is straining at the bit like a race horse. He is happiest when his fingers are racing over his
December 24, 1998 - MPR’s William Wilcoxen reports on efforts of the Minnesota Twins executives to “break even” by cutting payroll. That helps explain why the Twins let go of several of their best-paid players, but it’s not clear where this short-term strategy will lead them.
December 24, 1998 - FADE IN CROWD SFX # 6122 (AUDIO IS HOT!) More than 2 thousand people waited for hours in long lines to pick up Christmas toys and clothes at Sharing and Caring Hands in Minneapolis. The doors opened at 8, but some had been waiting outside since the wee hours of the morning. There were as many as 100 thousand toys on hand, including dolls, basketballs, skateboards and street-hockey sticks. Volunteers picked out gifts, based on a child's age and gender, and handed them over in black plastic bags. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin prepared this snapshot of a charitable program that organizers say keeps getting bigger every year. --------------------------------------------------------- | D-CART ITEM: 6120 | TIME: 2:19 plus :05 sfx (fades) | OUTCUE: "... thank you." ---------------------------------------------------------
December 24, 1998 - While its members haven't been chaining themselves to trees, the largest grassroots environmental organization in the country hasn't been absent from the fight to stop the rerouting of highway 55. Local members of the Sierra Club have been using the courts to fight their battle. Jill Walker is a local Sierra Club volunteer. She says her organization can't condone the civil disobedience tactics protesters at the site have engaged in, but she does think their methods can be effective.
December 24, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio's Gretchen Lehmann reports on Wings of Mercy, a program based in St. Cloud that assists with the challenges of rural Minnesotans in finding medical care. A group of amateur pilots volunteer their time to fly rural low-income patients to hospitals in larger cities...and they do all their work for free.
December 24, 1998 - FOR THURSDAY MORNING Residents of Austin, Minnesota celebrated Christmas this week in their downtown Paramount Theatre. The old movie house is in the midst of a two million dollar renovation and city leaders hope just as it will provide a venue for performing arts it will also provide an economic boost for downtown. Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe has this Mainstreet report. Kids singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town The Paramount theater was filled with beaming parents, grandparents and other assorted Austin residents as a group of chil
December 24, 1998 - Despite a court order barring them from the site... Earth First !and Mdewaketan-Sioux protesters chained themselves to trees today at the site of the proposed re-routing of highway 55. The group is asking for a restraining order to prevent authorities from clearing trees, the group says are sacred, from the site. So far, police have not arrested the protestors. On Sunday authorities arrested 33 people who had occuppied government-owned homes on the site. Protester Bob Greenberg says he does not know what the authorities plan to do about this latest occupation, but he says the group will continue its protest despite the cold weather.
December 24, 1998 - Foreign medical students in the U-S face a unique visa restriction requiring that they return to their home country for two years after their training. Immigration officials say the restriction helps improve health care around the world by returning highly-skilled physicians to their native countries. But one Rochester woman says the rigid rules will force her family---with two U-S citizens--to live abroad. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports.