July 6, 2001 - Midday presents the American RadioWorks documentary “The Promise of Justice: Burning the Evidence,” which looks at war crimes in Kosovo. This is the story of a secret and grisly operation by Serbian security forces to destroy evidence of possible war crimes in an industrial furnace in northern Kosovo.
July 6, 2001 - MPR’s Laurel Druley reports on how state farmers are now trying to predict their crop yields. Typically farmers like to see corn hip-high by the fourth of July. But 2001 was not a typical year, with massive flood waters in the spring. At the start of July, Minnesota corn height averaged 21 inches. That's a foot shorter than the year before.
July 6, 2001 - MPR’s Kamoi Goetz profiles the 21st annual Hmong International Freedom Festival sports competition in St. Paul. 25,000 people are expected at the two-day festival which features a parade, food and souvenir booths, and sports competitions. Hmong youth from across the country will compete with Minnesota athletes in soccer, volleyball…and Takraw, a sport that blends aspects of both volleyball and soccer.
July 9, 2001 - The Minnesota Twins will send three players to the All-Star Game. It's the first time since 1996 that the team has sent more than one player to the game. Pitchers Joe Mays and Eric Milton, and shortstop Christian Guzman have led the surprising Twins this year. LaVelle Neal provides commentary about the team’s success in first half of 2001.
July 9, 2001 - MPR’s Elizabeth Stawicki presents report on attempts to save the Ojibwe language. Report includes various interviews, including Jim Northrup. At one time more than 300 American Indian languages were spoken in the U.S. But with each passing generation, many of the indigenous languages have died; others are on the verge of disappearing. With that in mind, tribes from northern Wisconsin and Minnesota are trying to keep their Ojibwe language from going silent and along the way gain new insight into how their ancestors viewed the world.
July 10, 2001 - The national convention of the Communications Workers of America wrapped up today in Minneapolis. The union's 2,300 delegates heard AFL-CIO president John Sweeney and others talk about the importance of expanding union membership in Minnesota and nationwide.
July 10, 2001 - Morning Edition’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Lucky Rosenbloom, chair of the Minnesota Black Republican Coalition, about Jerry Blakely and Devin L. Miller, two candidates vying for a Republican endorsement in St. Paul mayoral race.
July 10, 2001 - MPR’s Greta Cunningham talks with Jacquelyn Mitchard about her book "A Theory of Relativity," which opens with a fatal car crash and focuses on the question of who should raise the orphaned baby girl left behind. Cunningham says the book was inspired by a real-life court battle.
July 10, 2001 - MPR's Laura McCallum reports that Governor Ventura has emerged from a bruising legislative session with his approval ratings intact. In the first poll since a special session narrowly averted a government shutdown, Ventura's approval ratings have remained steady, and nearly half of those polled think he should run for a second term next year.
July 10, 2001 - MPR’s Andrew Haeg reports that the continuing decline of small agricultural communities in the Great Plains is fueling a search for ways to keep people from moving away. Increasingly, rather than looking to federal or state governments for aid, townspeople are trying to save themselves.