September 1, 1999 - At the start of another school year, officials in the Minneapolis school district are telling students to show up everyday. Superintendent Carol Johnson says her goals for the school year include a 95-percent attendance rate for all students. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire visited one Minneapolis school that's already surpassing the goal.
September 2, 1999 - On this special live Midday program from the Minnesota State Fair, a debate about the idea of a unicameral legislature. MPR’s Gary Eichten moderates a discussion with DFL State Senator Allan Spear, who supports unicameral, and former Republican Party Chair Chris Georgacas, who opposes unicameral.
September 3, 1999 - MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports on the International Plowing Competition in Rollag, Minnesota. Farmers from 30 states are competing for the national plowing title. The event is part of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion.
September 3, 1999 - Bison burgers, Buff dogs…bison's becoming the 'other' red meat for health conscious Americans. Mainstreet Radio's Marisa Helms reports that cattle ranchers across Minnesota are starting to raise the nearly once extinct animal in increasing numbers. Some of these new bison ranchers try to mimic the natural prairie setting, grazing their herds on native grasses.
September 3, 1999 - The Minnesota Attorney General's office is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a case involving the Minnesota Twins, anti-trust laws, and whether professional baseball illegally coerces communities into building publicly-funded baseball stadiums.
September 6, 1999 - The end of the state fair can't come fast enough for the fish on display at the DNR booth. About a third of the fish in the four-foot-deep outdoor cement pond have developed sores on their bodies caused by fungus. Muskies, northern pike and brown trout seem to be the most afflicted. Steve Oie is a fishery specialist with the DNR metro region who runs the DNR fish exhibit. He says the fish become susceptible to fungus after being transported from a nearby pond.
September 6, 1999 - MPR’s Eric Jansen reports on trip from the BWCA, after the severe storm on the Fourth of July that downed millions of trees over more than 300,000 acres. Despite the devastation, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is already showing signs of recovery.
September 6, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger reports on digitally-mapped, electronically monitored, pushbutton GPS golf. The latest lure for the golf-obsessed is satellite technology, global positioning to be exact. But at least one golf purist is not impressed.
September 7, 1999 - MPR’s Bill Wareham reviews the Mill City Music Festival, which for the first time, had an “all local” line-up. Wareham discusses perfomance highlights, including Prince, Sugar, Jack McDuff, and Slim Dunlap.
September 7, 1999 - Classes begin at the University of Minnesota today, two weeks earlier than the traditional start of the acacdemic year. This is the first time in 75 years the university has operated under a semester-based calendar. Planning for the conversion from quarters to semesters began four years ago and touched every aspect of the university.