September 15, 1999 - The downtown St. Paul-based insurance giant the St. Paul Companies this afternoon announced it will be cutting significantly fewer jobs from the ranks of its corporate headquarters staff than it had anticipated.
September 16, 1999 - A new report says rainfall in the upper midwest is loaded with mercury, which is polluting the region's lakes and streams. The National Wildlife Federation report says rainfall in the Duluth area holds about six times the amount of mercury considered safe for people. Readings in some urban areas like Detroit are about 65-times the safe level. Bill Grant is Director of the Midwest Energy Program at the Isaac Walton League. He says mercury is a naturally occurring metal, but in this case the problem is the result of human action.
September 16, 1999 - The federal Centers for Disease Control is giving the state Health Department 1.2 million dollars to begin preparations for the possibility of a biological weapons attack. The grant is part of a national program that will distribute money to 40 states to improve lab technology and design early warning sytems that will be able to quickly detect an outbreak. Former state epidemiologist Mike Osterholm is Chairman and CEO of the Infection Control Advisory Network. He says the new grant will still leave the state a long way from being fully prepared for a biological attack.
September 16, 1999 - Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley stumped for campaign volunteers and money in Minneapolis yesterday. Some recent polls show the former New Jersey Senator neck and neck with his only other Democratic rival - Vice President Al Gore, and Bradley has picked up the backing of some prominent Minnesota DFL'ers.
September 16, 1999 - Duluth's Edison charter schools are expanding into three locations this fall, providing spots for a total of 800 students. Their parent company, Edison Schools, Incorporated, a for-profit firm based in New York, is expanding nationally too. This year Edison will operate 77 schools around the U.S. Edison promises better education, But critics say the firm's ability to improve student test scores is still unproven. The company's decision last month to make an initial public offering will likely bring even more scrutiny to its controversial enterprise.
September 16, 1999 - Twenty-five years ago today, a federal judge in St. Paul dismissed charges against two American Indian Movement leaders stemming from the 1973 occupation of the Wounded Knee site in South Dakota. Russell Means and Dennis Banks were the first AIM members to go to trial for their part in the 71-day standoff that ended with two dead and a U.S. Marshall paralyzed. Judge Fred Nichol dismissed charges of conspiracy, arson and assault eight months into the trial, when a juror became sick during deliberations and the government refused to accept a verdict from an 11-member panel. The judge angrily criticized the prosecution, accusing the government of misconduct as he dismissed the charges. In many ways it was the high point for the American Indian Movement, which still exists, but has been fractured by internal disputes.
September 16, 1999 - The people who run the court system in twelve Minnesota counties are navigating a big change in child protection hearings. Since June of 1998, these counties have participated in a pilot project to open those hearings to the press and the public, to make the courts more accountable to children in trouble. Today they met in St. Paul to talk about it.
September 17, 1999 - Members of the DFL Committee on Rural Issues got an earful in Bemidji last night during the last in a series of hearings around the state.
September 17, 1999 - Republican presidential hopeful Gary Bauer brought his conservative campaign to Minnesota today. Bauer touted education vouchers and local control of schools at Stillwater High School, and picked up the endorsement of a group of state conservatives.
September 17, 1999 - One of the most traumatic things a woman can hear, is a diagnosis of breast cancer. Patients need support and in rural areas where there are limited support services, coping with breast cancer and treatment can be difficult. Researchers at North Dakota State University and meritcare Roger Maris Cancer Center are starting a project in Fargo, they hope will provide insights to help breast cancer patients, cope.