June 22, 1999 - The debate continues over building a new baseball stadium in downtown St. Paul. Last night, Mayor Norm Coleman hosted his second community forum on bringing the Minnesota Twins across the river. The event was more orderly than the mayor's first attempt at presenting his ballpark proposal. That discussion -- late last week -- was disrupted when opponents interrupted several speakers. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports this time the process may have been more civil, but the two sides are as far apart as ever.
June 22, 1999 - Nick O'Hara is superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is working on both the Moose Lake and the Waseca cases. I asked him about the links between the two crimes.
June 22, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger reports that the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe are looking ahead at a future without gaming. Like many Indian tribes, the Mille Lacs Ojibwe got an enormous boost from gaming in the 1990s. Its two casinos brought in millions of dollars annually, and hundreds of new jobs. Now the Band is trying to broaden its economy.
June 22, 1999 - The first official week of summer is also the first week of summer school for thousands of kids in the twin cities. In St. Paul, summer school is mandatory for some students who did poorly on state tests. Only a little more than half of all registerd students showed up for the first day of class yesterday. Cy Yusten is an assistant superintendant for the St. Paul Schools. He says the idea that school is back in session sometimes takes a few days to sink in.
June 22, 1999 - The Carlton County sheriff says the man suspected of kidnapping Katie Poirier was in Moose Lake without his family when the 19-year-old was apparently taken from a convenience store there last month. Sheriff Dave Seboe also said this afternoon that the suspect has changed his looks considerably since the abduction, cutting his hair and growing a beard. The man remains in the Carlton County jail, awaiting formal charges. While his arraignment was delayed, authorities continue looking into the suspects past to determine whether he should be considered a suspect in another Minnesota crime.
June 22, 1999 - Carlton County authorities have until noon to charge a 52-year-old Richfield man in connection with the disappearance of Katie Poirer. The man's arrest has re-energized the search to find the 19-year-old Barnum woman who was apparently kidnapped last month from a Moose Lake convenience store. On Monday the Carlton County Sheriff's Department organized volunteers to search land surrounding the suspect's vacation home east of Moose Lake.
June 23, 1999 - Governor Jesse Ventura is in Washington, D.C. through tomorrow to lobby Clinton administration officials and members of Congress on behalf of Minnesota farmers. Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik is in the nation's capitol with the governor and has this report.
June 23, 1999 - Thousands of Kosovars are leaving refugee camps in Macedonia to return home. Meanwhile, some refugees are still arriving in the United States. About 45 Albanians who have come to Fargo in the past two weeks, are now trying to decide if they should return home.
June 23, 1999 - The Richfield man arrested for Katie Poirier's disappearance in Moose Lake will be released today unless lab tests provide enough evidence to charge him with kidnapping. Authorities say the man was in Moose Lake without his family when Poirier disappeared from the convenience store where she worked. But no evidence was found at his Moose Lake cabin or his Richfield home linking him directly to Poirier. News that the man has a record of criminal sexual assault and kidnapping, however, has done nothing to ease the fears of area residents.
June 24, 1999 - University of Minnesota men's basketball coach Clem Haskins may soon end his 13 year tenture at the school. A copyright report published in today's Star Tribune newspaper quotes two sources close to the university who say they expect Haskins to resign or be dismissed within three days. Haskins is at the center of a university investigation into allegations of academic fraud and mishandling of sexual harassment complaints against players. Dave Mona is president of the University's AluMinnesotai Association. He says reaction to the allegations has grown more intense in recent days.