January 19, 2000 - As the population ages, short-term memory loss and dementia are becoming more common. Four million Americans now suffer from Alzheimers Disease. Most of those who can no longer live at home are in nursing homes; but many say there's a lack of facilities that understand how to care for dementia victims. In Meeker County, where 17 percent of the population is over 65, an entrepreneur has risked everything to start an innovative foster home for Alzheimer patients. The home, in rural Darwin, features aspects of farm life and could become a model for the future.
February 17, 2000 - A Senate panel today began considering ways to improve security at the Minnesota state Capitol. A pie-throwing incident last year, at least two bomb scares, and attacks on government buildings around the country have sparked concerns over what some see as lax Capitol security. But lawmakers are reluctant to do anything that gives citizens the impression they're not welcome at the building funded by their tax dollars.
February 29, 2000 - Governor Jesse Ventura wraps up his National Governor's Association trip to Washington DC this afternoon. Last night the governor co-hosted a Minneapolis Convention and Visitor's Bureau dinner with Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton. Today he meets with Minnesota's congressional delegation. Ventura will also lobby for federal legislation to help Hmong refugees who helped the United States during the Vietnam War.
February 29, 2000 - Governor Jesse Ventura is on his way back to Minnesota after several days in Washington, DC for a National Governors' Association meeting. This afternoon, before leaving the nation's Capitol, Ventura met with Minnesota's congressional delegation. He also lobbied a key member of Congress about a naturalization bill that would help Hmong veterans.
March 2, 2000 - The Minnesota State Patrol is considering recording the race of every driver troopers pull over. The Patrol wants to make sure officers aren't making stops based on race. More than 100 other police agencies across the country have implimented similar plans over the last year in an effort to end so called "racial profiling." State Patrol Major Dennnis Lazenberry is overseeing the project. He says the study is a precautionary measure.
March 13, 2000 - Beginning this week, the U.S. Census Bureau embarks on a mammoth task: counting the entire population of the United States in a span of about six weeks. In past census years, Minnesotans have responded in greater numbers than residents of other states. But even in Minnesota, communities of color and immigrants were significantly undercounted during the last census. Minnesota Public Radio's Shirley Idelson reports on efforts to *reduce the undercount* this time around.
March 16, 2000 - Minnesota prison inmates have written and illustrated a book which they hope will keep at-risk kids from becoming fellow inmates.
March 17, 2000 - Of the thousands of people who fill casinos or purchase lottery tickets each day in Minnesota, an estimated four percent develop gambling problems which addiction. Compulsive gambling touches a broad spectrum of people including Southeast Asian immigrants. New prevention efforts are underway to stop problem gambling among Southeast Asians, but cultural barriers make success tough.
March 23, 2000 - MPR’s Brandt Williams profiles Neva Walker, a Minneapolis resident looking to become the first Black woman elected to the Minnesota Legislature. Walker, DFL-endorsed candidate for District 61B, is a local activist born in raised in South Minneapolis and project coordinator for United Way of Minneapolis program.
March 24, 2000 - MPR’s Leif Enger presents various commentary from tribal members during treaty holiday celebration.