February 9, 2004 - Minnesota residents talk a lot about the great quality of life they have. The state has enjoyed a national reputation for good schools and supportive children's programs…but that image has taken a hit lately. Funding for low income daycare has been chopped and lawmakers will struggle again in 2004 to make up a deficit that could total $500 million dollars. Mainstreet Radio's Bob Reha reports that it's a situation that may leave some families, scrambling to pay the daycare bill.
February 10, 2004 - There are only a few places in the country considered hotbeds for emerging biotechnology industries and Minnesota isn't one of them. Governor Pawlenty hopes to change that with an initiative to strengthen a biotech corridor in the Twin Cities and Rochester. But some say biotech businesses could also spur economic development in rural Minnesota. Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports that leaders in Bemidji are exploring ways to develop a mini biotech cluster of their own.
February 17, 2004 - William McManus was sworn in today as the new chief of the Minneapolis Police Department. He replaces Robert Olson, who's leaving after nine years. McManus was previously the police chief in Dayton, Ohio. He says his first priority is to address any negative stereotypes about the police department.
February 23, 2004 - Ralph Nader announced Sunday that he will run as an Independent candidate in this year's presidential race. He is telling Democrats not to panic over his candidacy. He says he thinks he'll attract conservatives and other independents who are frustrated with President Bush's policies -- but that he won't lure away a lot of Democratic voters.
February 24, 2004 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Kevin Odegard, a Minneapolis musician involved in the South Minneapolis re-recording session of Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks” album. Odegard discusses the experience and book on the subject, titled “A Simple Twist of Fate.” Segment includes music clips.
February 26, 2004 - MPR’s Lorna Benson profiles Liz Mc Elhinney and Siddiqi Ray, a lesbian couple in Minnesota who recently married in San Francisco, which began to grant marriage licenses to gay couples.
February 27, 2004 - A Minneapolis Deputy Chief suspended with two other officers denies allegations she ordered the destruction of an internal memo. Police Chief William McManus suspended Lucy Gerold and two officers who serve under her while the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conducts an investigation. The suspension comes less than two weeks after McManus took office promising a zero-tolerance stance on police misconduct.
February 27, 2004 - A delegation from the St. Paul is heading to Thailand today to visit the camp just north of Bangkok where thousands of Hmong refugees have been living for more than a decade. The group includes St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly and other government officials, as well as representatives from human services agencies and the St. Paul Public Schools.
February 27, 2004 - A national report out today attached staggering numbers to the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. It says nearly 11-thousand victims reported abuse from 1950 to 2002. 275 of those cases are from here in Minnesota. Church leaders in Minnesota say by providing information, they prove the Catholic church is committed to change. But victims of abuse say the report doesn't provide a full picture. They say thousands of cases of abuse were never made public.
March 1, 2004 - 15 years after state officials signed gaming compacts with Minnesota's Indian tribes, 18 casinos have been built. They generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, far more than anyone imagined they would. The state of Minnesota gets only a small sliver of that money and it's used to regulate the casinos.