June 18, 1999 - A Ramsey County judge has again denied bail for a St. Paul woman accused of being a former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army. Authorities say Kathleen Soliah wanted in California on charges of conspiracy to murder police officers - has been living quietly in St. Paul as Sara Jane Olson for more than a decade. Governor Ventura said today he will not block her extradition to California.
June 18, 1999 - The University of Minnesota today dismissed the academic counselor for the men's basketball team. Alonzo Newby was a key figure in the academic fraud investigation. His testimony could have clarified what role coach Clem Haskins had in alleged improprieties in the basketball program. University counsel Mark Rotenberg says Newby was fired because he wouldn't cooperate with the investigation.
June 18, 1999 - The House of Representatives soundly defeated a wide-ranging gun control bill this afternoon. After hours of debate and votes on ten amendments addressing such things as background checks, saftey locks and age requirements for gun owners, the measure was defeated 280 to 147. The bill would have strengthened some current controls and weakened others. Minnesota's congressional delegation largely opposed the bill as Emily Harris reports from Washington.
June 21, 1999 - To close out the millennium, Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered presents a look back at Minnesota life in 1900 via a 12-part series, entitled “A Minnesota Century.” This segment is the story of journalist Eva McDonald. Her work exposing the harsh conditions endured by women in the new factories propelled her into the forefront of the very male world of labor politics.
June 21, 1999 - Mike Yost recently testified before Congress on the trade embargo issue. Yost is the president of the American Soybean Association and farms near Murdoch, Minnesota. He says Congress should consider the potential gains for struggling American farmers.
June 21, 1999 - Greater Minnesota employers are starting to feel the pinch of a tight job market; much like that endured by Twin Cities employers for the past couple of years. But most say they're still in better shape than their Twin Cities Counterparts.
June 21, 1999 - The arrest last week of a St. Paul woman accused of being a former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army is generating intense public debate. Law enforcement authorities say Sara Jane Olson is actually fugitive Kathleen Soliah who is wanted in California for conspiring to murder police officers in the mid-'70s. Olson's friends and associates, however, are stunned, and some question the wisdom of pursuing the charges.
June 21, 1999 - Wheat, corn and other grains may be the staff of life at the world's dinner table but when it comes to international trade they're more often the stuff of strife. U.S. farmers struggling to stay afloat financially see exports as the answer to their problems. But they're locked out of some of the worlds most lucrative markets. Trade barriers are one reason Minnesota farmers say they're in a crisis, and many have used government aid and creative financing to balance the books.
June 22, 1999 - As Minnesota logs month after month of historically low unemployment, the jobless rate in the twin cities hovers at even lower levels. The metropolitan area has consistently posted the lowest unemployment rate among major cities since August of 1997. Last month it was just one-point-six percent. As Bill Catlin reports, the low unemployment rate is changing the balance of power between companies and workers.
June 22, 1999 - A lot of people in North Minneapolis are hoping the good times have finally begun to roll. The city is demolishing rundown public housing to make way for new market rate homes. There's a plan to clean up the riverfront. And a few months ago, the area won federal designation as an Empowerment Zone, allowing people interested in doing business there to apply for grants and credits.