March 18, 1998 - Governor Carlson says he supports spending 50 million dollars in state money on a light rail transit line between downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of the America with a stop at the Twin Cities Airport. Earlier this week, the Metropolitan Airports Commission voted to spend 150 million dollars for new parking ramps, road improvements and a skyway connection between two airport concourses. This is just a small part of a 1.7 billion dollar airport expansion project that is designed to accommodate growth in airport traffic through the year 2010. After that, another billion dollars may have to be spent on a brand new terminal. John Himle sits on the airports commission.
March 19, 1998 - Dr. Donald Hensrud, professor of preventive medicine and nutrition at Mayo Medical School and Mayo Clinic, discusses vitamins and how they relate to cancer and nutrition. Hensrud also answer listener questions.
March 19, 1998 - Minneapolis playwright Kim Hines tells the story of three prominent African American women of the time who are largely unknown to most Minnesotans. Hines has written monologues portraying the life of businesswoman Amanda Lyle, social worker Gertrude Brown, and attorney Lena Smith.
March 19, 1998 - State funding for a new Saint Paul hockey arena could be in jeopardy because of questions surrounding a deal between the Minnesota Wild Hockey Team and the company it chose to oversee construction of the arena. The team awarded the construction contract to Minneapolis -based M.A. Mortensen after the company paid the team's 100-thousand dollar NHL initiation fee. We get an update from John Knapp who lobbies on behalf of the Minnesota Business Partnership at the state legislature.
March 19, 1998 - The exotic and mysterious life of a 1930's Geisha is not the typical subject matter for a first novel from a Harvard-educated man from Tennessee. Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha was sparked by his interest in Japan and a series of interviews he did with a real geisha. Golden also has a Master's Degree in Japanese history from Columbia and has studied and worked in Japan. Memoirs of a Geisha tells the story of a young girl--sold and forced to leave her little sea-side village to live in a house where geisha's are trained. Arthur Golden told Minnesota Public Radio's Greta Cunningham the final version of Memoirs of a Geisha came after struggling with two dry rough drafts.
March 19, 1998 - For years, senior citizens enrolled in HMOs in Minnesota have received fewer Medicare benefits than their peers in other states. That's because Medicare's funding formula dictated lower payments in places like Minnesota that were cutting health care costs and higher payments in places like Florida that had high health care costs. Last year, Congress tried to fix the problem but the disparities have only gotten worse. Now lawmakers are taking another shot. We talk to 2nd District Congressman David Minge about the problem.
March 20, 1998 - "Images of Aging” Princeton survey shows working people think retirement will give them a chance for a fresh start, but most retirees say their lives are about the same or worse. This Midday program examines expectations upon retiring with guest LaRhae Knatterud, of the MN Dept of Human Service's Aging Initiative called "Project 2030," who discusses survey results and answers listener questions.
March 20, 1998 - Nolan Zavoral talks about his book about Iowa wrestler and coach Dan Gable.
March 21, 1998 -
March 21, 1998 -