November 4, 1999 - Governor Ventura will sell Minnesota's agriculture and basketball today on his fourth day in Japan. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste is travelling with the governor:
November 4, 1999 - Donald Blom faces a mandatory minimum 15 years-to life in prison now that he's been convicted of a federal firearms violation.
November 5, 1999 - Deer hunters are always scheming how to outwit their nervous prey. Some perch for endless chilly hours hidden high up a tree. Others brazenly barge through the woods, to chase the skittish white-tails into a fellow hunter's target range. Some go so far as to douse themselves in doe urine. And a few will be turning to a small battery operated device that draws in the deer with the flik of a fake tail.
November 5, 1999 - Nearly five hundred educators are in Mahnomen this week for the annual convention of the Minnesota Indian Education Association. Organizers say it's the highest attendance in the fourteen year history of the Association. Educators say there's a renaissance underway, as traditional culture and spirituality are re-discovered and embraced by the younger generation.
November 5, 1999 - Police are still searching for the killer of Matthew Nimine. The immigrant businessman from Liberia was shot Sunday in his West Broadway Avenue clothing store on Minneapolis ' near north side. His funeral is tomorrow at nearby Ascension Church. In the year Matthew Nimine was on the avenue he made a positive impression on his friends and neighbors.
November 5, 1999 - The farm crisis has touched nearly every sector of agriculture in southern Minnesota but it may be hog producers who have suffered most. It was their fate to be caught between two profit destroying events: record low prices and wrenching structural changes which are transforming the hog industry. When prices collapsed a year ago some farmers began selling hogs and processed meat directly to consumers in hopes of getting a better price. The market has recovered a little this year but prices are still below the break even point. Some farmers wonder if hogs will ever again be the profit center they were a few years ago.
November 8, 1999 - Governor Ventura entertained Japanese tour directors last night with the help of the Beach Boys. The Northwest Airlines/Mall of America party was designed to help attract more Japanese tourists. The Governor seems fond of the Japanese, and likes to point out to the Minnesota media pool that he's been there before, unlike many of them. In a one-on-one interview with the Governor, Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste asked him about his affinity for Japan and the Japanese.
November 8, 1999 - Governor Ventura visited a model Tokyo High School early this morning, and, as usual, he was a big hit with the kids. His philosophy of smaller class sizes was also popular among the students, who say Japan might have something to learn from the U.S. when it comes to giving children individualized attention.
November 8, 1999 - Much of northern Minnesota is struggling under the weight of the depressed farm economy. But the town of Warroad, located near the states northern tip, has long been buoyed by the presence of Marvin Windows and Doors. Now Marvin is struggling to overcome a product liability dispute that nearly dragged the company into bankruptcy.. The success of this effort matters ALOT to Warroads mainstreet businesses, for their vitality is directly tied to the success of the Marvin family.
November 8, 1999 - Resort owners on Minnesota's Northwest Angle are breathing a sigh of relief at news that Ontario has dropped fishing restrictions the resorters claimed threatened to drive them out of business. The resort owners in the sparsely populated region tried for years to draw national attention to their plight, and finally suggested seceding from the U.S. and joining Manitoba. But it was the possibility of a legal judgment under NAFTA that persuaded the Canadian government to change its rules.