January 22, 1998 - The Minnesota Department of Health is preparing to investigate why taconite miners on the Iron Range have higher rates of mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos. For more than two decades, miners have raised concerns that the cancer is work-related. If the state legislature approves funding, the health department will research that claim. That research will also be the beginning of a database tracking the relationship between jobs and respiratory illnesses around the state.
January 22, 1998 -
January 22, 1998 - Groups for and against abortion rallied at the state capitol today, the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which confirmed women's rights to abortion. But debate over abortion in Minnesota is likely to be less intense in this year's legislative session than in previous years.
January 23, 1998 - Hockey fans greeted the announcement of the Wild name with a little MORE enthusiasm. Here's what some folks in downtown St. Paul thought of the new team name.
January 23, 1998 - Roger Moe wasn't the only one who didn't give the WILD an exuberant welcome to St. Paul. Jay Erckenbrack is the president and owner of Minnesota Wild, not the hockey team, but a natural foods company in Northern Minnesota.
January 23, 1998 - St. Paul's future hockey team has a new name -- the "Minnesota Wild" -- but it may NOT have state money for its new arena. The city has been counting on the state to pay for half of the $130 million dollar project, but a key lawmaker may block the money.
January 23, 1998 - A disagreement between state and federal officials is threatening a wide ranging program to clean up the Minnesota River. As much as 200 million dollars in federal money is at stake, but one person close to the disagreement says there's only a fifty-fifty chance the two sides can reach agreement.
January 23, 1998 -
January 23, 1998 - In Minnesota's case against the tobacco industry, the state and Blue Cross Blue Shield are seeking to recover the costs spent treating the ailments of 90-thousand smokers. But that number doesn't tell the true story of Minnesotans who've suffered from smoking-related illnesses.
January 23, 1998 - This past Monday on Martin Luther King Day there were two attacks in the Twin Cities. Victims in both incidents say the assaults were racially motivated. In St. Paul two black women were allegedly beaten by two white men. In the northern suburn of Brooklyn Center, an African American boy was shot in the back, the 14 year old says his assailant was white. Community Leaders have called a town meeting to talk about what they see as increasing problems with "hate crimes."