July 4, 2000 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher takes a look back on the one year anniversary of BWCA blowdown, and what has happened since.
July 4, 2000 - The Fourth of July means fireworks, parades, and - in an election year - politicians. Minnesota candidates worked the crowds at parades around the state today . Many of them could be seen at one of the state's biggest parades in Forest Lake. The primary is ten weeks from today, and although voters may not be paying attention yet, that's not stopping the candidates in Minnesota's U-S Senate race. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
July 4, 2000 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews Cathy Quinn, a crew leader on the eastern end of the Gunflint Trail. She says it may be two years before the clean-up is complete and speaks to the enormity of change to landscape.
July 4, 2000 - The Independence Day holiday is the beginning of peak swimming season in Minnesota. But already a number of drownings have occurred. In the past two weeks, a 25-year-old St. Paul man drowned in Lake Phalen when he tried to retrieve a frisbee, a 23-year-old man drowned in Carver County's Lake Ann, a woman in her 40s was found submerged in a lagoon on Minneapolis' Lake of the Isles and a 14-year-old boy drowned when he tried to swim across the St. Croix River. Barb Pierce is a Water Safety Specialist with the Minneapolis Red Cross. She thinks the weather has played a role in the drownings.
July 4, 2000 - For most of its long history of building dams and straightening rivers, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hasn't had to worry much about endangered species. But that's changing. This spring, the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service released a sweeping document known as a "jeopardy opinion." It says the corps' operations on the Upper Mississippi River threaten two endangered species, including one called the pallid sturgeon. Fish and Wildlife is expected to issue another document soon, saying corps operations threaten the pallid sturgeon on the Missouri river as well. Now, the Fish and Wildlife Service wants the corps to make some changes in how it runs the nation's largest river system. But change for the Corps does not come easy. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
July 5, 2000 - A Minnesota men's singing group called the Apollo Male Chorus will be the only men's chorus from the United States to compete in what's considered the Super Bowl of amateur choral competitions. Forty members of the chorus are leaving Minnesota later today to compete in the Eisteddfod International Choral competition in Wales. Joining us in the studio is Tomm Johnson, president of the Apollo Male Chorus.
July 5, 2000 - Candidates vying for retiring Democratic Congressman Bruce Vento's seat hit St. Paul's festivals and parades over July Fourth, taking what could be seen as a break from the fundraising that has occupied them in recent weeks. D-F-L candidates say the race hasn't grabbed voters attention yet, but they hope by meeting and greeting citizens they can build support in time for the party's primary election September 12. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports.
July 5, 2000 - When Qwest's buyout of US West was finalized last week, the new company agreed to give up long-distance service customers in the 14 states formerly served by US West. The federal government will not allow so-called baby bells, such as US West, to offer long distance service until they have competition to provide local service. The buyout gives Qwest a monopoly on local service in the 14 US West states, but the company wants to surrender that advantage so it can re-enter the long distance market. Lew Wilks, President of Internet and Multi-media markets at Qwest, says moving into the extremely competitive long distance market makes business sense.
July 5, 2000 - FOR WEDNESDAY MORNING 7-5 Officals at North Dakota State University continue to cleanup after a disastrous flash flood swamped much of the campus. Heavy rains caused millions of dollars of damage to NDSU's library. Some departments remain without phone service. *While much of the damage was immediately obvious, some of the storm's toll is still submerged. School officials are still trying to gauge the long term impact *to the nearly 800 acres devoted to* crop research. Some say the loss of *this growing year* for *crop and seed developers* may be more important than the monetary damage. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Reha reports. *On a recent summer day, *the sun makes an appearance* on the NDSU campus.
July 5, 2000 - MPR’s Stephanie Hemphill catches up with a small band of environmental crusaders starting a planned walk around Lake Superior to bring attention to the need to protect the greatest of the Great Lakes. The walk is fulfillment of an the idea from Walter Bresette, a prominent Ojibwe activist.