July 1, 1999 - The Minnesota Zoo has announced plans to build a four and a half million dollar exhibit honoring the family farm. Zoo officials say the farm will help city kids better understand the importance of agriculture. Critics say it looks like another money-losing venture for the state facility.
July 2, 1999 - Judy Dwarkin, director of public relations at the Humane Society, talks about the first annual "Dog Day at the Dome." 150 dogs will gather for the Twins game event that includes a parade around the field and a dog owner look-alike contest. Dwarkin says the dogs won't be disappointed.
July 2, 1999 - The Fourth of July is a mere four days away -- that means small-town parades, back-yard barbeques, and, yes, fireworks. Fireworks have been illegal in the state since 1941, but each year Minnesotans flock to Wisconsin and return with bottle rockets, sparklers, and firecrackers. Governor Jesse Ventura says they should be able to make those same purchases here at home. But others warn legalizing fireworks will only lead to more accidents and injuries.
July 2, 1999 - Even as cost estimates for a proposed light rail transit system rise, Minneapolis and St. Paul residents continue to show strong support for the idea. A new poll commissioned by Minnesota Public Radio, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and KARE-TV shows well over two thirds of those responding to the survey support light rail.
July 2, 1999 - Minnesota Twins officials have thrown their support behind St. Paul efforts to build the team a new ballpark. Mayor Norm Coleman had said he needed a commitment from the team before he asked St. Paul voters approve a .5% sales tax increase to pay for the project.
July 2, 1999 - MPR’s John Bischoff visits carillonneur David Johnson at House of Hope church along Summit Avenue in St. Paul, as he prepares for July 4th concert. Johnson discusses the instrument and how to play it.
July 5, 1999 - Recent immigrants to Minnesota comment on why they've chosen to move to the United States and whether they feel that America lives up to its promise.
July 5, 1999 - MPR’s Lorna Benson talks with Mark Van Every, spokesperson for the Superior National Forest Service in Duluth, about the BWCA storms. Van Every says it was the worst storm his office has seen the the past decade.
July 5, 1999 - In Winona writer Marjorie Dorner's new novel "Seasons of Sun and Rain", a group of women-friends annual vacation together on Lake Superior's North Shore is overshadowed by shattering news. One of their number is suffering from "Early on-set Alzheimers." The women have been friends since college, sharing each others joys and sorrows as they have had families, and watched their children become adults. Dorner told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr the story is based on experiences she's had with her own friends. The central shocking secret in the novel...is fiction. Dorner says one of the women is about to get a huge test... she's been asked to promise she'll help her sick friend commit suicide at some time in the future.
July 6, 1999 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports on impact of ferocious storms that hit the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The wind and rain downed trees and power lines across much of Northeastern Minnesota. Residents of Hibbing were assessing flood damage, while resorters on the Gunflint Trail were taking stock of damaged buildings.