April 21, 1998 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Mille Lacs Indian Museum, highlighting Indian treaty rights and Native American sovereignty. Rachel Reabe interviews Henry Buffalo, a Minneapolis attorney, sovereignty expert, and member Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe; Chief Tribal Judge Mary Jo Brooks Hunter, of Ho chunk Tribe; and Jim Genia, solicitor general for the Mille Lacs band of Ojibwe. Discussion topic is tribal sovereignty and how the rules are different on the reservation.
April 21, 1998 - Off the field, forces who are trying to keep the Twins from moving to another state won a victory after Ramsey County District Judge Margaret Marrinan ruled that Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey can proceed with his investigation of Major League Baseball.
April 21, 1998 - The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources plans to set fire to Itasca State Park this week. The fire will burn about 35-hundred acres making it the largest controlled fire in the park's history. It's intended to clear the area of undergrowth and reduce the risk of wildfires in the future. Fire planes, helicopters and about 90 firefighters will monitor the burn. Jean Bergerson is with the Interagency Fire Center. She joins me now from Brainerd.
April 21, 1998 - Yesterday, a Chicago jury ruled that two of the nation's most militant anti-abortion groups violated anti-racketeering laws by staging protests that used fear and violence to shut down two abortion clinics. Last weekend in the Twin Cities, protesters staged a violent demonstration in order to prevent a group of neo-Nazis from holding a press conference. The nature of political protests have changed over the past 30 years according to Jeffrey Broadbent, a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota. He says compared to the 1960's, today's protests are considered a more legitimate way of participating in democracy...but they also carry a greater potential for violence.
April 21, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio's Dan Gunderson reports that while farmers across the region are getting their machinery lined up for an early start on spring planting, in northwestern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, hundreds of farmers are lining equipment up to be sold at auction. Some are angry…but many are relieved.
April 22, 1998 - On this Midday program in observance of Earth Day, guest Peder Larson, commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, discusses environmental issues. Topics include agricultural feed lots and Koch refinery case. Larson also answers listener questions.
April 23, 1998 - Minnesota 5th District Congressman Martin Sabo talks about a new report on the wage gap called "Executive Excess" and discusses his Income Equity Act proposal. Sabo also answers listener questions.
April 23, 1998 - The National Basketball Association plans to locate a new women's professional team in the Twin Cities beginning in June, 1999. The WNBA, which begins its second season in June, also announced a new team for Orlando, Florida. The league owns the teams, but local NBA franchises are in charge of running them. Roger Griffith is the Minnesota Timberwolves chief financial officer. He told MPR's John Bischoff the Timberwolves staff will handle the promotion and management of the team.
April 23, 1998 - The Minnesota legislature's passage the Marvin Windows bill is provoking an angry response in Pennsylvania, the home state of PPG Industries. On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Legislature approved a resolution opposing retroactive changes to the law, saying such action "would represent unprecedented, unjust and prejudicial intervention in ongoing litigation." Republican State Senator Melissa Hart of Pittsburgh introduced the resolution. She says she's disappointed by the bill passed in Minnesota.
April 23, 1998 - U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno has awarded the 1998 Crime Victims Service award to the University of Minnesota's Program Against Sexual Violence. The mainly volunteer-run service aids victims of rape in their day-to-day life as they recover from the attack. Suzanna Short is the assistant director of the program.