April 5, 1999 - Many discipline problems at two Minneapolis schools are now resolved in student court, where students serve as the lawyers and jury. Organizers of the program at Webster Open School and Four Winds American Indian magnet school say student court is building leadership skills and reducing behavior problems. The program has also caught the attention of the nation's top law enforcement official.
April 5, 1999 - The Red River water levels are falling today in Grand Forks, but the National Weather service is predicting a second crest on Sunday. Ice is now off most of the Red River, speeding the flow of water north to Lake Winnipeg. Rain and snow fell across northwest Minnesota and eastern North Dakota over the weekend, and more is forecast this week. The extra precipitation could prolong the high water for a week or more.
April 5, 1999 - Every spring for thousands of years, people have noted the first leaf buds opening, the first insects hatching, and other signs of the changing seasons. The study of seasonal plant and animal activity is called "phenology."---a field which in the past has often been dismissed as old fashioned. Now, scientists realize such observations can be a valuable tool for studying global climate change.
April 5, 1999 - American Indians say a court ruling that the Washington football team's use of the name "Redskins" is derogatory means the team will no longer profit from souveniers bearing the trademark. Three judges with the U. S. Patent and Trademark office said the name Redskins violates a federal law which denies trademark protection to names that disparage or defame a group of people.
April 6, 1999 - MPR’s William Wilcoxen reports the Minnesota Twins roster for 1999 season feature several unproven players who are new to Major League Baseball…the consequence of owner Carl Pohlad’s decision to slash the Twins' payroll over the winter. The move puts Twins management in the position of trying to raise interest in the team amid low expectations.
April 6, 1999 - The Saint Paul school board will let its high schools decide individually whether to provide birth control directly to students. Board members met until early this morning debating the controversial proposal to allow health clinics in those schools to distribute contraceptives. In a hastily concieved compromise, parents, teachers and students at each school will now vote on the issue.
April 6, 1999 - Minnesota's U-S Senators, DFLer Paul Wellstone and Republican Rod Grams, made a rare joint appearance for a journalism awards ceremony at the University of Minnesota. The intended topic of discussion was the impeachment procedure and policy in the 1999 Congress. But talk quickly turned to the conflict in Kosovo. The two senators are known for disagreeing with each other. As Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports, last night was no exception.
April 6, 1999 - The stock of Minnesota motorcycle manufacturer Excelsior Henderson lost another one percent today after a nearly 23 percent plunge Monday. Investors sold off the stock following the company's report that losses in 1998 were bigger than expected and it's 1999 losses would be as well.
April 6, 1999 - Yugoslav officials said today they will impose a unilateral cease-fire in its battle against Kosovo rebels for the Orthodox Easter holiday. Western leaders called the move a sham and pledged to press ahead with airstrikes. A Serbian journalist who's visiting Minneapolis says NATO's airstrikes are only worsening the humanitarian situation in Kosovo. Aleksandra Ajdanic is an editor for the BETA news service, an independent news agency in Belgrade. She left for the United States six days after the airstrikes began because she had been planning to attend a conference. She has connections to the Twin Cities because she was a fellow at Macalester College's World Press Institute last year. Ajdanic is continuing to follow the war through her agency's website, and is sharing her experience in the American media.
April 6, 1999 - One of Minnesota's most unusual tutoring programs requires college students to live in the neighborhood of the children they serve. Project for Pride in Living, the non-profit Minneapolis housing developer, operates College House, a renovated home in the city's Phillips neighborhood. Bethel College students live in the house and tutor neighborhood young people.