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.
August 14, 2002 - It's tough to break into farming nowadays, and even tougher if you're an immigrant. MPR’s Rob Schmitz reports on Minnesota Food Association, which assists immigrant farmers in areas like production techniques, marketing, and management skills. Unfortunately, federal budget cuts have had a negative impact on program.
August 15, 2002 - In Fairbault, Gregg Bongard, a U.S. Department of Agriculture employee, is making a special effort to reach out to Minnesota's growing immigrant population. In the second part of his series on immigrant farmers, MPR’s Rob Schmitz reports that Bongard thinks he's discovered a new approach to farming that could change the face of agriculture in the United States.
August 19, 2002 - Major League Baseball players have set a tentative strike date for the end of month as the 2002 MLB season enters its final weeks. The key issue is a desire by owners to impose a luxury tax on high-payroll teams. The union thinks taking away too much money from the high-spending teams would slow salary increases. Many Minnesota Twins fans say they're worried a strike could spell the end of the team.