April 15, 1999 - Governor Ventura has named thirteen new people to the sixteen member Metropolitan Council, dramatically changing the makeup of the regional body. He chose people from business, inner city neighborhoods, agriculture and minority groups. One of the new council members, Matthew Ramadan, the director of the Minneapolis Northside Residents Council, is Ventura's first African American appointee.
April 15, 1999 - The Human Rights group AMinnesotaesty International is increasing its presence in Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania to document war crimes and monitor treatment of Kosovar refugees. AMinnesotaesty-International USA executive director Bill Schulz is in Minneapolis for the group's annual meeting.
April 15, 1999 - A Minnesota Public Radio/St. Paul Pioneer Press poll finds fewer than ten-percent of those polled want to scrap the Profile of Learning, a new set of high school graduation standards. Most Minnesotans polled would rather see the Profile changed, or given more time to work. The results run counter to sentiment in the Minnesota House, which voted earlier this year to scrap the Profile entirely.
April 15, 1999 - A five-and-a-half billion dollar health and human services spending bill moving through the Minnesota House is being described as an assault on abortion by supporters of legalized abortion. The bill bans a late-term procedure sometimes called a partial birth abortion, and requires a 24-hour waiting period before a woman could get an abortion. The move sets the stage for a battle with the Senate and the Governor, and a possible repeat of last year's showdown that nearly forced a special session.
April 16, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Rochester on senior citizens and Minnesota's long-term care system. In this hour, Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion about nursing home alternatives with Connie Bagley, director of the Southeastern Minnesota Area Agency on Aging; Hal Freshley, of the Minnesota Board of Aging; and Dr. Ken Hepburn, director of Geriatrics programs at Department of Family Practice at University of Minnesota.
April 16, 1999 - This afternoon House and Senate negotiators signed off on an agreement to cut a farm-aid proposal free from the ongoing wrangling over tax rebates and send it to the Governor as soon as possible. The $70-million-dollar package is meant to help farmers through the agriculture crisis by giving them a $4-dollar-an-acre rebate on the property taxes. Many farmers say the aid is a nice gesture, but it's probably not going to save many farms.
April 16, 1999 - This weekend a top official from the US Department of Justice will be in the Twin Cities to hear from farmers concerned about dropping prices and growing consolidation in agri-business. Many farmers struggling to get by, suspect one reason the prices they're being offered for their crops and livestock are so low is because there are fewer companies competing for their business.
April 16, 1999 - In his first 100 days in office, Governor Jesse Ventura has prided himself on speaking his mind. But sometimes speaking his mind has gotten Ventura in trouble. On several occasions, critics have said the governor's comments reflect a lack of sensitivity on issues pertaining to single mothers and minorities.
April 16, 1999 - The Service Employees International Union, the country's fastest growing union, is trying to organize more than fifteen hundred twin cities school bus drivers. According to an official with the National Labor relations board in Minneapolis , it would be one of the largest Minnesota union votes in recent memory. The union petitioned the board for a vote yesterday, the same day that Eden Prairie school bus drivers who already are represented by the union ratified a contract with a double digit increase in wages and benefits. As Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports, the union's president says bus drivers represent a growth opportunity.
April 16, 1999 - The Minnesota House has passed a $3.3 billion transportation bill. Two proposals heavily favored by Governor Jesse Ventura -- light-rail transit and reducing license tab fees -- were conspicuously absent.