March 4, 1999 - Minneapolis based Best Buy Corporation today posted record sales of more than ten BILLION dollars last year. The numbers represent a more than 20 percent increase in sales over the previous year.
March 4, 1999 - DFL State Senator Steve Morse is resigning to take the number two job at the State Department of Natural Resources. In his 12 years at the legislature, Morse has been a champion of environmental causes and has won high marks with such groups as the Sierra Club and the Izaak Walton League.
March 4, 1999 - Minnesota Agriculture commissioner Gene Hugoson heard an earful about the farm crisis during the first in a series of listening sessions around the state. Hugoson was in Marshall yesterday where farmers said state officials should be leaders in the search for solutions.. something they say is not happening.
March 4, 1999 - The Minneapolis City Council appears ready to approve a Target office tower on Nicollet Mall, despite a planning committee vote last week that could have blocked the project. But council action tomorrow will likely force Dayton Hudson to consider downtown neighbors' concerns in the skyscraper's design.
March 5, 1999 - Chicano-Latino community leaders in Minnesota are hoping Governor Jesse Ventura's administration will usher in a new era for Hispanics, and possibly open doors for future cabinet positions. They invited the governor to a reception at Boca Chica, a west side St. Paul restaurant that's been a hub of local Latino culture and politics for over 30 years.
March 5, 1999 - Many Minnesota Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police are upset about a legislative proposal to eliminate part time peace officers. Supporters of the legislation say it will improve the quality of police forces. But some law enforcement officials in outstate Minnesota say it will have the opposite effect.
March 5, 1999 -
March 5, 1999 - Midwestern dairy producers saw their segment of the agriculture industry join the growing farm crisis today. The price dairy farmers receive for their milk - which is calculated from a government-supported formula, dove a record six dollars today. Prices had been high since last fall and analysts say the volatility is a result of the phase out of government price supports.
March 8, 1999 - Arts education has been something of a battleground for the past decade. Policy makers go back and forth on its importance just as school districts do about whether art should be a priority in the budget. Minnesota is now writing a new chapter in the debate. The legislature is wrestling over what to require of arts education as part of the graduation standards. Even WHEN that argument is settled, HOW and WHAT students learn about art will still be inconsistent.
March 8, 1999 - The legislature will soon debate Governor Ventura's proposal to reduce class sizes in elementary schools. Ventura wants one teacher for every 17 students in kindergarten through third grade. He's convinced smaller classes will improve student achievement. Ventura holds up Centerville Elementary School to prove his point. But the success of one school's experiment might be tough for other schools to copy.