July 28, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from the International Wolf Center in Ely. Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion about black bears with Dave Garshelis, of the Minnesota DNR; Lynn Rogers, a bear researcher; and Bill Lea, president of American Bear Association. Program begins with a report on bears in Minnesota from MPR's Leif Enger.
July 28, 1999 - Governor Ventura met today with a group of former state legislators who support cutting Minnesota's two-chamber legislature down to a single house. Ventura has said making the conversion to a single-house legislature is his top priority for his term in office, but so far he's done little to advance the cause... now the founders of the group calling itself "Minnesotans for a Single-House Legislature" say that's about to change.
July 28, 1999 - The black bear is hot. Just ask the Minnesota Science Museum, current venue of "Bears", the most popular traveling exhibit it's ever hosted. And just ask the Department of Natural Resources, which in recent years has dealt with record numbers of bear sightings and nuisance reports. In fact, as the bear population continues to rise, wildlife managers are asking themselves if they're still in control of these usually-reclusive animals.
July 28, 1999 - Tomorrow is the one-year anniversery of the disappearance of Julie Holmquist. Holmquist is the teenager who vanished while rollerblading near her small town of Hallock, Minnesota. Her body was found in a shallow pond three weeks later. The case has still not been solved. Ray Hunt is the Kittson county Sheriff in charge of Holmquist's case. He says he's optomistic her killer can be found.
July 28, 1999 - The city of St. Cloud, Northern States Power Company and its subsidiary Seren Innovations are adopting new safety procedures after a series of gas pipeline strikes. Seven months ago four people died when a crew working for Seren laying fiber optic cable ruptured a gas line in downtown St. Cloud.
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July 29, 1999 - Minneapolis school officials say they're hoping the district's largest ever summer school will also be the most successful. They won't know for sure until test scores are tallied this fall. Summer school classes ended today for many Minnesota schools.
July 29, 1999 - Before Jesse "The Body" Ventura even thought about flinging a boa around his neck and entering the wrestling ring, the notorious Baron Von Raschke was goose-stepping and plowing his way through opponents around the globe. Now an elder statesman of wrestling, Baron Von Raschke -- better known to friends and family as Jim Raschke -- lives in the tiny northern Minnesota hamlet of Lake George. He recently spoke with Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson about his career; his disappointment with today's wrestling industry; and his thoughts on having a former colleague in the governor's mansion.
July 29, 1999 - Tomorrow night, the Oak Street Cinema in Minneapolis begins a three week retrospective of the work of French director Francois Truffaut. The Oak Street is the only threater outside New York showing all of the new prints of Truffaut's 23 feature films. Truffaut was among a group of brash young film-makers who challenged the accepted cinematic norms of the 1950's and launched what became known as the French New Wave. But unlike other New Wave directors Truffaut, went on to enjoy wide success. He is perhaps best known in America for his role in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". The Oak Street's Bob Cowgill told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr that role was chosen very deliberately.
July 29, 1999 - A University of Minnesota study in this week's issue of the journal Nature fills in some gaps as researchers try to fit together a more complete picture of climate change thousands of years ago. Such knowledge could eventually help give scientists a better understanding of global climate change in the modern world.