February 18, 1999 - Rochester officials say the possibility of a University of Minnesota branch campus will increase the ability for the Mayo Clinic and other businesses to attract and retain workers. The Minnesota State College and University Board this week approved a set of principles that opens the door for a U of M branch campus in Rochester. The decision is now in the hands of the University Board of Regents and the legislature.
February 18, 1999 - It's been less than six weeks since the new 651 area code became mandatory for St. Paul and its surrounding suburbs. And already, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is considering another area code for the Twin Cities. Last night, the PUC held its first public hearing on the proposed changes.
February 18, 1999 - Republicans and Democrats in the Minnesota House have agreed to use money from the state's tobacco settlement to pay for subsidized health care. In a unique show of bi-partisanship, lawmakers from both parties support a plan to eliminate the so-called "sick tax", and use tobacco money to fund Minnesota Care.
February 19, 1999 - Since the early 1960s the Vermont-based Bread and Puppet Theater has been taking it to the streets. Considered at the forefront of the theater of social protest... the company uses hand-made puppets which are deceptively simple-- created from common materials but with powerful artistic results. This week and next Bread and Puppet -- with it's founder Peter Schumann -- are in the Twin Cities performing some of their classic work and and adding new creations with the help of Macalester college students and children from area schools.
February 19, 1999 - The Minneapolis NAACP has released a detailed proposal for settling its education adequacy lawsuit against the state. The NAACP plan would effectively eliminate school enrollment boundaries in the metropolitan area...and pressure Minneapolis schools to quickly raise test scores. State and school district officials are reserving comment on the plan.
February 19, 1999 - State legislators have filled four seats on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. Meeting in joint session Thursday, members of the House and Senate selected two incumbents and two newcomers to the governing body of the U of M. Despite a three-month search, lawmakers from both parties are criticising a process that produced few women or minority candidates.
February 19, 1999 - After close to a year-long search, the St. Paul schools may have found a new superintendent. Patricia Harvey has been a teacher, principal and administrator in Chicago and is credited with improving test scores in some of the cities weakest schools. She is the only candidate to replace Curman Gaines, who took a job in the private sector. Harvey has spent the last few years working at an education reasearch group in Washington, but says she's eager to get back on the front lines of education.
February 19, 1999 - The Red Wing school district will have to cut 1 million dollars out of its 20 million dollar budget this year and faces similar cuts over the next several years. School board members say the financial troubles are a result of several factors; static student enrollment and flat state funding. School districts across the state are facing enrollment declines and may find themselves making similar cuts even as the governor and lawmakers work to provide more money for education.
February 22, 1999 - A small cut in the state's 23-billion-dollar budget has business people and organized labor concerned. Governor Jesse Ventura's budget removes funding for a 60-year old apprentice training program that turns out thousands of new trade workers each year. Some worry the ranks of skilled workers are already at risk, and the shortage will be exacerbated by the cut.
February 22, 1999 - A bi-partisan group of lawmakers wants to dedicate 15-million dollars a year, from the state's tobacco settlement to health programs geared at teens.