June 17, 2002 - People in Roseau, near the Canadian border, are beginning the process of cleaning up after the worst flood in that town's history. Water from the rain-swollen Roseau River receded over the weekend, after nearly a full week of devastation. City officials place early damage estimates at more than $120 million dollars as residents are discovering just how much they've lost.
June 17, 2002 - MPR’s Laura McCallum reports on the newly-endorsed slate of Republican candidates as they embark on a three-day statewide bus tour. This follows the candidates flying around the state earlier, after getting party backing during the state convention. Gubernatorial candidate Tim Pawlenty says his campaign will focus on the three issues he terms "kids, roads and jobs."
July 3, 2002 - Famed American playwright Arthur Miller is in Minneapolis this week preparing for the world premiere of his latest play at the Guthrie Theater. Miller is best known for his plays "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible" - this is the first time he's premiered a play in Minnesota.
July 8, 2002 - Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak proposes capping city spending increases at no more than eight percent a year. The plan enjoys majority support on the City Council, but it means the city will have to cut six million dollars as elected leaders prepare for next year's budget.
July 11, 2002 - Catholics around the country learned new things about their communities when clergy sex abuse cases received fresh attention this spring. One small parish in central Minnesota discovered three of its former clergy had records of sexual abuse. All three had come to them from nearby St. John's Abbey. Today the men live at the abbey. They are stripped of their priestly duties and restricted in their daily routines. No new victims of sexual abuse have come forward in St. Joseph. But the case raises new questions about the safety of parish children during those years.
July 23, 2002 - The group charged with redesigning the Minneapolis Civilian Review Authority has come up with its recommendation for making the agency more effective. Under the proposal agreed upon last night, the CRA would get additional staff and more power to conduct its investigations. However, the plan would cost the city more than the old CRA. And some critics say a CRA under this plan would still have the same problems as the old agency.
July 29, 2002 - In this short documentary, Narrator Earl Leaf presents various insights on the history of the “poorhouse,” as well as a look into how society treats poor people today, compared to the era of the poorhouse.
August 2, 2002 - MPR’s Brandt Williams reports on some of the best singers in the world heading to Minnesota, as the Twin Cities hosts the triennial World Choral Symposium. It's the first time the event has ever been held in the U.S. For a week, over a thousand singers, from more than 50 countries will attend workshops and perform numerous free concerts.
August 2, 2002 - A Hennepin County sheriff's spokeswoman says it will be weeks before they know what led to the killing last night of a Minneapolis police officer and a resident of a south Minneapolis high rise apartment building. Officer Melissa Schmidt died from a gunshot wound after she and her partner responded to a call from the Horn Towers complex that a resident had a gun. The resident, sixty year old Martha Donald died in the altercation.
August 6, 2002 - More than two thousand people are expected in tiny Bloomer, Wisconsin today to say goodbye to Minneapolis police officer, Melissa Schmidt. Schmidt grew up in Bloomer. She died last week, after a shootout with a suspect in a Minneapolis apartment building. The suspect, 60 year old Martha Donald, also died. an honor guard of Minneapolis officers has been with Schmidt's body since her death...and will accompany the casket during the procession to the church and cemetary. According to Deputy Police Chief, Greg Hestness...the honor guard is part of police tradition.