March 19, 1999 - Today Governor Jesse Ventura told teenage boys at the Minnesota Correctional facility in Red Wing, they need to make better decisions to avoid getting caught up in the adult prison system. Juvenile justice officials say the Red Wing facility plays an important role but some want more emphasis on community-based programs.
March 19, 1999 - A House Committee approved a bill today that would let voters decide whether or not they want casino gambling at Canterbury Park racetrack.
March 19, 1999 - A North Dakota man today receives the highest Award given by the French government. France is making a special effort to recognize U-S veterans who served in World War One by naming them Chevalier of the National Order of Legion of Honor. Three Minnesota veterans will also be given the award.
March 19, 1999 - This weekend, Fargo Moorhead is celebrating the renaissance of a cultural icon. The Fargo Theatre has been restored to its 1930's art deco splendor. The renovated theatre also boasts one of the finest Wurlitzer pipe organs in the upper midwest.
March 19, 1999 -
March 22, 1999 - State officials are rejecting a proposal for unlimited open enrollment among Twin Cities schools because they say it's "unworkable." The Minnesotaeaplis NAACP wants to eliminate metro area enrollment boundaries as one step in settling its education adequacy lawsuit against the state. The state has now responded with its own settlement proposal, and few of the NAACP initiatives are included.
March 22, 1999 - Around the Twin Cities metropolitan area, old lines are beginning to blur between previously separate telecommunications technologies. Within the near future, cable television, high-speed Internet access, and telephone service could all be provided in one package through one hook-up in each home. Already, St. Paul and many suburbs are close to completing that convergence. But a dispute between the City of Minneapolis and cable company Paragon has that city and its residents on hold while the rest of the region moves ahead.
March 22, 1999 - Native American elders from several states are supporting the Mendota Medwakanton Dakota in their effort to prevent the reroute of highway 55 in Minneapolis . In two days of testimoney, the elders told federal and state transportation officials that a site near the route of the proposed highway has long been sacred to many tribes.
March 22, 1999 - In a contest for the public's attention, affordable housing doesn't compare with, say, the Oscar winners or a tax cut. But Minnesota's largest foundation says it's time to pay a lot more attention to the issue. The McKnight Foundation today made it's biggest grant ever to a single recipient - $23 million - to build more affordable housing. On Thursday, lawmakers will get an earful from housing advocates who gather at the capitol to lobby for the issue.
March 22, 1999 - The reputation of Rochester's Mayo Clinic spans the globe due in part to high profile visitors like the late King Hussein of Jordan. Rochester residents are accustomed to hearing bits of Italian or Arabic or Portuguese in the downtown shopping mall. However of the 300 thousand patients that visit the clinic each year, about two and a half percent come from overseas. Doctors say while the percentage of foreign visitors may be small, serving them is an important part of the clinic's mission.