December 29, 1999 - Some day, maybe decades from now, some calendars commemorating the new millenium might become collecters items, heirlooms even. For one Minnesota photographer, a year 2000 calendar is the perfect medium to showcase his images of Lutheran churches around the state.
December 29, 1999 - Shoreview Republican Representative Phil Krinkie is suing Governor Ventura to force the Governor to show the proposed Hiawatha AVenue light rail line meets legal requirements. Ventura approved a bonding bill which includes money for light rail. The state's cost benefit analysis released after bonding was approved shows the Hiawatha Avenue line will yield one dollar of public benefit for every two dollars of cost. Those results don't appear to meet a state law requiring projects to show a positive benefit.
December 29, 1999 - Dental care is a vital but sometimes overlooked part of health care. Studies have shown that illnesses like heart disease can be linked to poor dental care. In rural areas, finding a dentist to take care of your teeth can be a problem, especially for low income and elderly people.
December 29, 1999 - There are signs that the crisis in agriculture eased a bit the past year but farmers anticipate more tough times in the year 2000. Despite a pledge to end farm subsidies, federal government props in the form of emergency aid appear to be the only thing keeping many Minnesota farmers in business. In the third of our series looking at the past year and on to the next, Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Steil reports the political arena will be a major focus for farmers, but they'll also be keeping an eye on the weather.
December 30, 1999 - One person who will definately be working this New Year's Eve is Jill Waterman. She's a New York photographer who's spent the past 16 years capturing New Year's Eve celebrations throughout the world on film. Some of her photographs are on display this month at the pARTS gallery in Minneapolis . Waterman says her New Year project started accidentally, when she found herself on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on New Year's Eve 1983.
December 30, 1999 - 1999 was another big year for corporate mergers. When New Jersey based Allied Signal bought Honeywell for nearly 16 billion dollars, it became the second year in a row that Minnesota lost the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company. In 1998, Minneapolis had lost the corporate offices of Norwest Bank when it acquired Wells Fargo and moved its top executives to San Francisco. It's clear the forces driving such mergers will continue -- even though investors are increasingly skeptical of buyouts. Bill Catlin of Minnesota Public Radio has the next in our series of reports on the year ahead.
December 30, 1999 - MPR’s Bob Kelleher reports on fear of fire danger into new century after BWCA area blowdown. Kelleher interviews several forest officials.
December 30, 1999 - At a meeting in Omaha this week, 14 lawmakers from six midwestern states came up with several ideas they hope will give farmers more control over their livelihoods and cash in their pockets. The suggestions ranged from enacting a producer's bill of rights to requiring labeling of genetically modified crops to setting a minimum price for commodities. Representative Ted Winter is a Democrat from Fulda in southwestern Minnesota. He says if the states which produce most of a given commodity can join together to support a minimum price, farmers could get the kind of minimum wage protection other workers enjoy.
December 30, 1999 - David and Johanna Hecker are devout Christians who have been living for 22 years in Northeast Minnesota, on land they call God's wilderness. When they heard about the anticipated problems with Y-2-K, they advertised, offering to sell land to other Christian, home-schooling families, and help build cabins to avoid any millennial disruptions. Visitors arrived from all over the country. But as Mainstreet Radio's Amy Radil reports, things haven't quite worked out as the Heckers hoped.
December 30, 1999 - By this time tomorrow the University of Minnesota should be wrapping up the Gophers' first bowl game appearance in 13 years. The Sun Bowl and the postgame New Year's Eve party cap a week of activities for Gopher players and fans in El Paso, Texas. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen is in El Paso and has this report.