February 20, 1998 - Tomorrow, about 30 volunteer spelunkers will descend into Mystery Cave in southeast Minnesota's Forrestville State Park... to count bats. The Department of Natural Resources has been counting bats at Mystery Cave every third year since 1989... making this the fourth count. In that time, the population of bats hibernating in the cave has grown. Warren Netherton is the park's cave specialist.
February 20, 1998 - This winter may go down as one of the warmest ever in Minnesota. The winter of 1986-87 currently holds the record... with an average statewide temperature of 21.7 degrees. But we could come within a tenth of a degree of that record this year according to a forecast by assistant state climatologist Greg Spoden. As you might expect, Minnesotans have developed some strong opinions about the departure from the usual sub-zero chill... as Minnesota Public Radio's John Bischoff discovered on a stroll down Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis .
February 23, 1998 - MPR's Amy Radil reports that Minnesota mushers are bringing dogsledding to a whole new audience…women seeking winter adventure. The Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon race in Duluth and Alaska's Iditarod have increased the sport's visibility. Now, mushing trips for novices are one way sled dog owners can educate people about the sport and pay their bills.
February 23, 1998 - As part of the continuing MPR series Voices of Minnesota, a presentation of conversations with James Griffin, one of Minnesota's first Black police officers and first deputy police chief for St. Paul; and Hennepin County Judge Pamela Alexander, Minnesota's first Black female judge.
February 24, 1998 - While Florida and California are being battered by deadly storms, the weather in Minnesota has been just as unusual... but much more benign. Temperatures that have stayed well into the 30s and 40s have caused most people to shed their winter coats. They're also prompting some plants to come out of dormancy a few weeks early this season. We talk with Deb Brown, extension horticulturalist at the University of Minnesota, about how to protect early buds.
February 25, 1998 - A group of about 150 people protested at the Minneapolis School Board meeting last night. A number of parents told the Board the community schools system, which gives parents the option sending their children to a neighborhood school, is increasing segregation and hurting the education among students of color. School Board President Bill Green listened to the comments last night. He says the community schools system was started two years ago because busing was keeping parents from involved in the schools.
February 26, 1998 - The new state revenue forecast is due out tomorrow and the expectation is that the budget surplus will rise to 1.8 billion dollars. Lobbyist Judy Cook of the Minnesota Retail Merchants Association keeps close tabs on the activity at the Capitol. She was at the Senate Tax Committee meeting last night and says the budget surplus was a hot topic of conversation.
February 26, 1998 - Attorney Greg Wersal discusses his challenge to the recently enacted law which prohibits judicial candidates from getting party endorsement.
February 27, 1998 - MPR’s Cara Hetland reports on 25th anniversary of Wounded Knee, a 72 day stand-off between members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the tribal and federal governments. Some regard the incident at Wounded Knee in western South Dakota as the beginning of an era of increased Indian activism; others see it as the end to progress on the reservation.
February 27, 1998 - Audio excerpts of Dorothea Mockabee recalling life in the Twin Cities. Mockabee grew up in Saint Paul. Her father owned a barbershop on Rondo Avenue in the section of the city where most black people lived.