May 14, 1997 - MPR’s Karen-Louise Boothe reports that a bill banning same-sex marriage in Minnesota appears likely to pass this legislative session. A ban successfully passed out of a joint House-Senate conference committee, which included it in the omnibus health-finance bill.
May 14, 1997 - For the first time in it's 20-year history, St. Paul's Penumbra Theatre Company will perform August Wilson’s Fences on the stage of the region's best known theater, the Guthrie, in Minneapolis.
May 15, 1997 - Midday looks at Governor Arne Carlson's insistence that tax breaks for education expenses, including private school costs, be part of any education funding bill passed by the legislature. On this Talk of Minnesota, listeners call in and comment on whether the governor should stick to his guns or be willing to compromise.
May 19, 1997 - Over the weekend House and Senate conferees worked out the details of the long-awaited property tax reform package. Home owners will get a one time rebate and the tax rates for commercial property will be reduced. The package should be voted on today. Governor Carlson has said he will veto the tax bill unless he gets the tax credit provisions he wants in the education financing bill. We get the numbers from Dan Salamone, Exectutive Director of the Minnesota Taxpayers Association.
May 19, 1997 - The House and Senate are meeting at this hour, hurrying through their votes to try to finish their business before tonight's midnight deadline... but the real action at the capitol is taking place behind closed doors, where DFL leaders and the Governor's staff are struggling to figure out a compromise over K-12 education tax breaks. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports.
May 19, 1997 - The Red River is back within its banks this afternoon in Grand Forks. The Red measured 27-point-98 feet -- just under the 28-foot flood stage. That's down from the 54-foot crest last month that caused an estimated billion dollars worth of damage. Even with the river back within its banks, many residents are still not back in their homes, and the Salvation Army is renewing its plea for volunteers.
May 19, 1997 - Under a bill passed by lawmakers, minors in Minnesota will find it tougher to buy a pack of cigarettes. Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports, the fate of the so-called Youth Access bill was uncertain right up to the time of the roll call vote.
May 19, 1997 -
May 19, 1997 - MPR’s Martin Kaste describes that state lawmakers are facing a midnight deadline to finish their work of the session. Two big bills are headed to the Governor Carlson’s desk, where they face all but certain vetoes.
May 19, 1997 - Lobbyist Judy Cook says if the logjam at the capitol over education tax credits forces the legislature into a special session, it'll probably happen only when an agreement is finally worked out, and that other topics such as flooding or even the stadium could be taken up again, as well.