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.
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.