February 8, 1999 - The Minnesota department of transportation has temporarily halted an archeological survey of land in the path of the proposed highway 55 reroute in Minneapolis. A crew was scheduled to begin survey work this morning, but left the site at the request of highway opponents.
February 8, 1999 - A new report finds 12-hundred Ramsey County families on a waiting list for subsidized child care - an all-time high. Ramsey County officials are calling for more state funding for child care, arguing the issue not only affects the working poor, but businesses competing for workers in a tight labor market.
February 8, 1999 -
February 9, 1999 - Today at Central High School in St. Paul, the teachers who were willing to talk on tape said they generally liked the profile of learning. Marty Hawthorn is a Math Teacher at Central who does not want to go back to what he sees as an outdated, rigid emphasis on basic skills. Hawthorn has used many of the Profile's so-called "performance packages" in his classroom. In one project his students used their math skills to put together a budget for an archaelogical dig. They also measured shards of pottery and used mathmatical formulas to figure out the size of the original objects. Hawthorn says the Profile of Learning has improved math teaching.
February 9, 1999 - Later this morning Minnesota Public Radio will broadcast a conversation between residents of north Minneapolis and Crookston. You might think a small rural Minnesota community and inner city Minneapolis would be much more different than alike. But folks in the northwestern community of Crookston and people in North Minneapolis say they've found common ground.
February 9, 1999 - When 911 operators recieved the call last December of a natural gas explosion in St Cloud, they immediatley called the Gold Cross ambulance dispatch in Rochester. Late last year, ambulance dispatch services in St Cloud were closed and operators at the Mayo Emergency Communications Center, which owns Gold Cross, took over. The push to integrate the state's emergency services has gained momentum over the past few years as companies try to consolidate resources and equipment.
February 9, 1999 - Officials from the U-S Department of Agriculture met today with South Dakota pork producers to discuss an investigation into hog prices and marketing options. But The event did not give farmers any new information except how to read new market reports. In December, prices hit an all time low. The frustration with federal programs, current conditions and lack of solutions was evident at today's meeting.
February 9, 1999 - The Minnesota Department of Transportation estimates it will cost almost one-and-a-half billion dollars to bring commuter rail to the Twin Cities. Transportation officials briefed lawmakers today on the potential price tag. The system would use existing rail lines and has been touted as a way to reduce traffic congestion on Twin Cities freeways.
February 9, 1999 - Just 30 years ago, there wasn't a single tribal college in the United States, and for many Native Americans, education was seen as a means of assimilation and submission, rather than growth and opportunity. Going to college meant leaving the reservation, foregoing tradition and, in a sense, becoming white. Now, there are 32 tribal colleges nationwide, and the number is growing by about three a year. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, the Leech Lake Reservation's tribal college is creating an educational renaissance for Indians in northern Minnesota.
February 10, 1999 - High school students from Minneapolis and St. Paul are getting a crash course in African-American musical history this week at the Ordway Music Theater. About 100 teenagers who are probably more familiar with rap and hip hop spent a day learning about spirituals, civil rights songs, rhythm and blues, and singing songs that have played a central role in African-American experience.