October 4, 1999 - Earlier this year, Governor Ventura and state lawmakers agreed to set aside nearly a billion dollars of the state's tobacco settlement for smoking prevention, public health and medical education. Since then, there have been a series of news reports on Minnesota falling behind other states in its efforts to prevent teens from smoking. Eventually the state will have twenty-five million dollars a year in endowment interest to spend on anti-smoking efforts. But for now, all state officials can do is plan for the money.
October 4, 1999 - The experts will tell you the three things that keep small towns alive are its school, its church, and its healthcare provider. This latter item, whether it be a doctor, a clinic, or a hospital is so vital the federal government has developed a program to keep rural hospitals alive. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Reha visited Mahnomen recently where residents believe the designation of their hospital as a Critical access facility is a vital step in keeping the community healthy, both physically and economically.
October 5, 1999 - Minnesotas black bear population continues to confound biologists. Once thought stable at about ten-thousand, the most recent survey estimated a total of almost three times that in the state.
October 5, 1999 - Mayor Norm Coleman's campaign to build a new Minnesota Twins ballpark in downtown St. Paul has entered the final month before a city-wide referendum on the issue. If voters approve a sales tax hike to help fund the project, the debate will advance to the state legislature -- where just two years ago, efforts to build a new ballpark ran afoul of public sentiment. In part two of our series on the stadium controversy, Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo examines the political landscape surrounding the stadium debate.
October 5, 1999 - Curt Johnson is a veteran of the Carlson administration, where he served as Chief of Staff and later Chair of the Met Council. He's familiar with sweeping policy agendas like the one unveiled by the governor today. Johnson says on first glance, it seems like the "Big Plan" is more a collection of priorities, than a specific list of goals.
October 5, 1999 - In 1974 Peggie Carlson was a struggling college student in search of a high paying part-time job. She had heard that the big Minnesota utility companies were looking to hire women so they could comply with Affirmative Action policies. She submitted an application to Minnesotaegasco and was hired. Carlson's experiences as the company's first black, female pipefitter trainee are detailed in her new book "The Girls are Coming--From the Front Lines of the 1970s Blue-Collar Workforce." The book details Carlson's rise from Minnesotaegasco meter reader to pipefitter. She found her meter reading job too risky--her life was threatened several times. She was then hired by the company's Buildings and Grounds crew--where her color and her gender made her stand out.
October 5, 1999 - A new study shows frog deformities may be linked to problems in the animals' thyroid hormone systems. The research may help scientists understand why so many different factors seem to contribute to the deformities found in wild frogs in Minnesota and other states.
October 5, 1999 - The University of Minnesota and the pharmaceutical company Glaxo Wellcome have reached a settlement over the AIDS virus drug Ziagen. The settlement requires Glaxo Wellcome to pay royalties for the patented drug developed at the University. Total royalties are expected to exceed 300 million dollars.
October 5, 1999 - MPR’s Mark Steil reports on the complicated nature of grain storage during the fall harvest, especially with the boom in genetically modified crops.
October 5, 1999 - The Minnesota Brewing Company is putting its pro-stadium sentiment right on it's can. The company is lobbying for a major league baseball stadium in St. Paul. To get its message out Minnesota Brewing is making some new collector edition Grain Belt beer cans emblazoned with the slogan "Vote Yes Saint Paul" urging support for a November Second city referendum. Voters are being asked to grant special taxing authority to help build an outdoor stadium for the Minnesota Twins. Minnesota Brewing President, Jack Lee, says the company made the cans for a simple and direct reason.