March 8, 1999 - Acclaimed British Director, Sir Peter Hall, is hoping the United States will be more arts-friendly than his native England. A founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and a former Director of the National Theater in London, Hall recently left Britain after a falling out with its Arts Council which refused to fund his repretory company. He also criticized the British Government's funding policies which he claims have starved the arts for 20 years. Hall has NOT left Britain permanently, but he will be gone for at least six months while he sets up an American Shakespeare Company in Los Angeles. Today he's in Minneapolis speaking at the Guthrie Theater as part of its Global Voices program. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr he's eager to do Shakespear in the states.
March 9, 1999 - Governor Ventura has revised his tax cut proposals to reflect the state's increasingly rosy budget. The new plan edges closer to the kinds of permanent cuts called for by the House Republicans, but as Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, Ventura and the Republicans are still no where near an agreement.
March 9, 1999 - So is there a deal... or isn't there? DFL Senate Majority leader Roger Moe says he and Governor Ventura have reached agreement on a one-point-three billion dollar sales tax rebate. But there's still a major sticking point between the Governor and Senate Democrats - and house Republicans are nowhere near signing on to the deal.
March 9, 1999 - Two months into the legislative session, lawmakers are hearing from their constituents about competing tax rebate plans and permanent tax cuts. DFL Representative Ann Lenczewski of Bloomington, who serves on the House tax committee, says the public is having a hard time making sense of the tax debate. The freshman lawmaker recently held her first town meeting to hear what her constituents think.
March 9, 1999 - Property owners who don't want to rent to low income tennants are asking lawmakers to exempt them from Minnesota's Human Rights Act. Right now, it's a violation of state law if a landlord refuses to rent to people because they use federal Section 8 housing vouchers.
March 9, 1999 - The 1996 Telecommunications Act is changing the service map in small Minnesota cities and towns. The legislation's goal is to foster more competition in the telephone industry. While wide-spread competition for local service has not materialized yet, ownership changes are already affecting many Minnesota communities. One major phone company is pulling out of the state and another is selling a large number of its local exchanges.
March 10, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman presents a series titled “This Is Home: The Hmong in Minnesota.” In this part, Nyman looks at how the centuries-old tradition of Hmong hand stitching is a practice becoming less useful as Hmong women create new lives in the U.S.
March 10, 1999 - Governor Ventura today endorsed Fairmont Businessman Terry Anderson in a special election in State Senate District 26. Anderson is running under the Reform Party banner, and this will be the first test of the party's electoral appeal since Ventura's victory last fall.
March 10, 1999 - In October 1997, a group which called itself a gang killed 18-year-old William Booth. Since then Grand Rapids police have used special anti-gang laws to counter what they say is the threat of youth gangs. However, local teenagers say the real result is they're being harassed.
March 10, 1999 - University of Minnesota officials are meeting with the National Collegiate Athletic Association to develop a plan for investigating academic fraud allegations involving the U of M men's basketball team. A copyright story in the Saint Paul Pioneer Press this morning reports a former U of M staff member's allegations that she wrote research papers and homework assignments for at least twenty basketball players over several years.