March 30, 1999 - The Minnesota Senate has acted unilaterally to pass a compromise version of the tax rebate plan -- even though the HOUSE has not agreed to the compromise.
March 31, 1999 - Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura spent much of the day in East Grand Forks. The Governor heard about the destruction caused by the flood of 1997, and saw the rebuilding still underway. The Governor left a trail of one liners, and a ray of hope for residents looking for financial help from the state.
March 31, 1999 - Minnesota U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone and attorney general Mike Hatch held roundtables in Rochester, St. Paul, and Duluth today to push proposals that would give patients more abilitiy to fight their health maintenance organizations. The two Democrats say they're responding to horror stories of people who've been denied treatment or doctors who are paid not to refer patients to specialty care. However business groups contend the proposals will lead to higher health insurance costs and less coverage for people who need it.
March 31, 1999 - Much of the economic news of the last year or more has focused on financial turmoil in asia. Currency devaluations, recession, and other fall-out from the so-called Asian flu have had a direct impact on Minnesota workers and companies of all sizes. 3M, for example, cut its work force as problems in asia cut into profits. But officials with 3M and other observers say Asia appears to be stabilizing and may now be on the upswing.
March 31, 1999 - The Minnesota House has approved legislation to allow law enforcement agencies to sell confiscated weapons. A Senate committee considers the proposal today. Many rural law enforcement agencies say selling the guns would mean cash they need to operate. Opponents say the confiscated guns should be destroyed.
March 31, 1999 - Security was a little tighter at the state capitol today in the wake of yesterday's pie-attack on State Senator Carol Flynn. Flynn was knocked down outside the Senate chamber when a man protesting the Highway 55 re-route project allegedly threw a cream pie in her face. The incident followed a similar pie-assault on Governor Ventura last week, and some lobbyists and members of the public are worried that new security restrictions could hamper their easy access to elected officials.
March 31, 1999 - A part time carpenter and social worker in Minneapolis can now call himself....author. Philip Martin's first book, entitled "The Zen Path Through Depression," applies his 24-years as a student of Bhuddism to an affliction affecting millions. The book arose from Martin's own serious bout with depression, and his discovery there wasn't much written offering a spiritual response to the illness.
April 1, 1999 - A plan to train inner-city youth for careers in agriculture is moving through the state legisalture. The Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council wants to build an urban agriculture high school in Saint Paul. The group is seeking 350-thousand dollars in start-up money. But some critics call the plan a boondoggle.
April 1, 1999 - Minneapolis went the month of March without a single murder ... and police say the homicide rate for the year is down substantially from last year. Police credit CODEFOR, a computer-assisted program for pinpointing high-crime areas. But some community groups say CODE FOR enforcement is too aggressive, leading to harassment of innocent citizens.
April 1, 1999 - The quest for jail space has become a perpetual issue for cities and counties around the state. Stiffer penalties and growing populations have filled jails to capacity; some counties spend hundreds of thousands a year driving prisoners back and forth to other locations. Now six central-Minnesota counties are asking the legislature to fund a study for a regional jail a 200-bed facility to catch the overflow, and take the pressure off county lockups.