March 11, 1999 -
March 12, 1999 - MPR’s Vaughn Ormseth takes a look at Einojuhani Rautavaara, one of Finland’s best-loved composers. Rautavaara has come to Minnesota with new work, "Finlands Spirit: Rautavaara." The premiere is sponsored by the Plymouth Music series, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota and St. Olaf College.
March 12, 1999 - The University of Minnesota's men's basketball team was eliminated yesterday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Their season ended on a controversial note as four players -- including two starters -- were declared ineligible for the game after allegations of academic fraud surfaced earlier this week.
March 12, 1999 - Later this month, the town of St. Peter will mark the one year anniversary of the tornado. Sunday, March 29th, 1998, a storm with winds over 200 miles an hour hit the towns of St. Peter, Comfrey and Le Center, killing 2 and damaging hundreds of homes and businesses. The day after the tornado, St. Peter residents held their first community meeting at 1st Lutheran Church. The modern brick chuch sits up on the hill above town, and wasn't damaged. It became the community center, where disaster officials and residents would meet to discuss each hurdle of disaster recovery. In the middle of it all was 1st Lutheran pastor Mark Solyst. When we talked with him last year, he had opened his church to Catholics who had lost their church at the center of town. They are still sharing quarters. I asked Solyst to reflect on the year since the tornado.
March 15, 1999 - MPR’s Lynette Nyman profiles the play "Hmong! The C-I-A's Secret Army" being staged at the Great American History Theatre in St Paul. The play is based on a screen play written by Lee Vang, a Hmong American in Minnesota. The production tells the story of the ‘secret war’ in Laos through a real-life love story.
March 15, 1999 - Minneapolis City council member Kathy Thurber testified against the bill this weekend. Thurber says she's concerned about the restrictions on gun suits. But she says other parts of the bill pose a more immediate threat to the safety of Minneapolis residents.
March 15, 1999 - Legislation moving through the Minnesota House would require doctors to report when minor girls have abortions without telling their parents. Supporters say the state - and parents - should know when girls have abortions, but opponents say the bill would intimidate girls in rural areas, who fear being identified.
March 15, 1999 - Pressure is building on Minnesota lawmakers to find a way to fund mass transit. Projected Twin Cities population growth and the rising costs of road building are fueling the interest. The problem, as usual, is finding the money. This morning the Minnesota House Transporation Finance committee considers a proposal to create a constitutionally dedicated fund to pay for transit projects.
March 15, 1999 - Full page newspaper ads and a television ad campaign are heralding a new Lyme disease vaccine across the region. Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of the tiny deer tick and, if left untreated, can cause cardiac, neurological and arthritic complications. But even though Minnesota and Wisconsin are listed among areas of the country with higher concentrations of Lyme disease victims, health officials in Minnesota say the risk is low, and most residents don't need the vaccine.
March 15, 1999 - State officials are scrambling to find out why a hog disease known as pseudorabies spread rapidly this winter in southern Minnesota's prime pork raising areas. Over two hundred infected herds are quarantined and officials expect to find more animals with the virus.