November 30, 1998 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman reports that Khoua Her, a St. Paul woman accused of killing her six children, changed her original plea to guilty of six counts of second degree murder. Her now faces a fifty-year prison term.
December 1, 1998 - MPR’s Karen Louise Boothe reports that Governor Arne Carlson has presented a plan to spend another $51 million on three "quality of life" initiatives. the proposal calls for aid for homeless children, more funding for the arts, and money to clean up and maintain Minnesota lakes.
December 1, 1998 - Craig Edwards, meteorologist in charge of the Chanhassen office of the National Weather Service, talks about mild winter weather and record breaking temperatures. It reached 68 degrees at the Twin Cities airport this afternoon, breaking the old high of 57 set in 1962.
December 3, 1998 - MPR's Brent Wolfe has this Mainstreet report on the study of tundra swans. The Upper Mississippi River between Wabasha and La Crosse is a temporary home to as many as 15,000 tundra swans, as they stop off here each winter enroute from their breeding grounds along Alaska's north slope to their wintering grounds on the Chesapeake Bay.
December 3, 1998 - MPR’s Mary Losure reports on Governor-elect Jesse Ventura touring the state’s Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Hundreds of state employees gave an enthusiastic welcome to Ventura as he visited the two state agencies that oversee Minnesota's environment.
December 4, 1998 - MPR’s Mary Stucky reports that the hottest toy this Christmas season reflects the old adage "we want what we can't have.” The toy in question is called a Furby, a furry electronic pet. In the business of toy marketing, scarcity drives consumer demand. The day after Thanksgiving people lined up at local toy stores at six in the morning. One store at the Mall of America sold out 300 Furbys in just ten minutes. It's another example of how advertising, a limited product supply and the demands of children can create a monster demand. But the Furby may be something new; in an age of global communications there is a worldwide demand...and an international shortage.
December 7, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger reports that archeologists have unearthed what's thought to be a 1,000-year-old sacred site on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation. The site contains dozens of ancient bear skulls, and predates the arrival of Ojibwe Indians to the region.
December 7, 1998 - MPR’s Martin Kaste reports that Minnesota's future First Lady is planning a populist party to mark her husband's inauguration. As honorary chair of the Inaugural Committee, Terry Ventura has nixed the traditional black-tie gala, and has opted instead for a rock-and-roll-style blowout in the Target Center.
December 8, 1998 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports that the first poll since the election gives Governor-elect Jesse Ventura high marks for his performance so far. Nearly half the people polled for Minnesota Public Radio and the St. Paul Pioneer Press consider Ventura a needed breath of fresh air in state government, although the other half say it's too soon to judge.
December 8, 1998 - MPR’s Martin Kaste reports that Governor-elect Jesse Ventura says he intends to keep working in the entertainment business, even after he takes office. Ventura is in the process of closing a deal to tell his life story in a ghost-written autobiography. Ventura calls it a "standard" book contract, and he says he doesn't think he's cashing in on being the governor-elect.