August 4, 1999 - Neighborhoods around the country celebrated National Night Out last night. The 16-year-old annual event, which began as an anti-crime effort, is particularly strong in Minneapolis , where nearly 1500 block clubs marked the evening in some way.
August 6, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio's Brent Wolfe reports on a national referendum sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which looks to change the current system that sets different minimum prices for milk in different parts of the country. The new pricing system would reduce the disparity in minimum prices around the nation.
August 6, 1999 - A reorganized district administration has begun its task of improving Saint Paul public schools. Superintendent Patricia Harvey has promised big reforms in the district and says the new leadership team will help her make the changes. The new administrators began their jobs this week and were echoing their boss's goal of raising student achievement.
August 6, 1999 - The head of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system says he wants to stay on the job another two years. But Chancellor Morrie Anderson says there are some MNSCU board members who want him removed. The board held an emergency, closed-door meeting today discuss Anderson's future, but made no decisions.
August 6, 1999 - Governor Ventura spent about half an hour this afternoon listening to tax reform suggestions from everyday Minnesotans. The 17 people spent the week getting a crash course in how the state's tax system works, then putting together a package of modest reform suggestions. The process is a public-policy experiment called a "Citizens Jury," and it's run by a private research organization known as the "Jefferson Center". The Ventura administration says it plans to take the jury's verdict seriously.
August 6, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio’s Marissa Helms reports on two brothers in central Minnesota that are taking the family dairy farm in a new direction.
August 10, 1999 - With those sales tax rebate checks on their way to your mailbox any day now, retailers are gearing up for what they hope will be a spending bonanza. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune newspaper is planning three special advertising sections to fit in all the extra advertising. If national statistics hold true, Minnesotans are likely to spend the money, all of it, fast, because America is not a society that saves money. Eric Brown is the communications director at the Center for A New American Dream, a non-profit organization dedicated to slowing the pace of American consumerism. Brown says he hopes Minnesotans consider saving their money.
August 10, 1999 - Today in a Montana courtroom, 38-year old Floyd Tapson was sentenced to life in prison for the attempted murder of a developmentally disabled woman. Investigators in Minnesota and North Dakota say Floyd Tapson may know what happened to three young developmentally disabled women who have disappeared over the past 12 years. The cases were cold until the Montana case against Tapson attracted the attention of investigators in Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Wadena.
August 10, 1999 - Sioux Falls' newest performing arts center is already in need of repair. The building's 560-seat mezzanine is showing stress cracks because it bounces up and down when people stand and dance. This happened during a Collective Soul Concert in June. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports a structural engineer's report says as long as people sit still the multi-use facility is in no danger of structural damage.
August 10, 1999 - Wildlife officials say unprovoked bear attacks - like one on a Wisconsin Boy Scout Monday morning - are extremely rare. But they caution that a growing population of black bears in Minnesota and Wisconsin are likely to result in more human and bear encounters.