December 30, 1996 - A group of volunteers is working to help strengthen the spiritual and cultural foundation of male and female Native American jail inmates in Beltrami County. The group that sponsors the program is called the Northern Minnesota Religious Freedom Council. The volunteers who visit the jail are Native Americans themselves and include spiritual elders, a musician, a chemical dependency counselor and a story teller. The group was founded three years ago and is hoping to expand its program so volunteers can begin programs for Native inmates in neighboring counties.
December 31, 1996 - Officials at the Minnesota department of transportation say they'll fight in both the courts and the U.S congress to see a proposed 60 million dollar bridge built over the Saint Croix River near Stillwater. On Monday, the U.S. park service announced it would block the bridge, using the park service's authority under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
December 31, 1996 - The metal grates were already down this morning on a few restaurants in the basement of Town Square in downtown Saint Paul. The basement of the mall will be made over into state offices, part of a 2-and-a-half year, forty-million dollar makeover of Town Square and The World Trade Center. The Town Square basement wasn't a very glamorous lunchroom, but it was always busy around noon, and provided more than a few livelihoods.
January 1, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger visits Mille Lacs, and reports on the perplexing nature of ice fishing.
January 7, 1997 - On the opening day of the Minnesota Legislature, a Midday discussion with key legislators on the major issues coming up this session: taxes, welfare reform, education, crime, and Twins stadium. Program also includes an interview with Governor Arne Carlson about his hopes for the 1997-98 and a short profile on two new legislators.
January 9, 1997 - MPR’s Bill Wareham reports on Minnesota Twins release of stadium proposal. State lawmakers now know it will cost upwards of $200 million to ensure the Twins remain in Minnesota. The team announced it would contribute $83 million of the estimated $350 million needed to build a new ballpark. Though the public would have to come up with the rest, it would get something no other community has…a 49% ownership interest in the team.
January 10, 1997 - MPR’s Gretchen Lehmann reports on the growing number of women involved in the sport of dog sled racing. Women are out in record numbers as mushers, braving sub-zero temperatures to experience the thrill of rushing through the woods on a sled pulled by a team of dogs.
January 13, 1997 - As part of a series on poverty, MPR’s John Biewen looks at the growth of so-called 'fringe banks'…pawnbrokers and check-cashing shops. A growing number of low-income Americans are relying on 'fringe banks' in place of traditional banking services.
January 13, 1997 - As part of a series on poverty, MPR’s John Biewen reports that while the Minnesota legislature passed regulations in 1996 designed to control interest rates so pawn customers wouldn't have to pay ten or fifteen times the rates charged for credit card loans, some of the state's pawnshops are using a loophole in the law to charge more than 200%.
January 14, 1997 - As part of a series on poverty, MPR’s John Biewen looks at the "rent-to-own" industry and issues regarding interest rates.