January 28, 2005 - The US State Department has temporarily halted the resettlement of Hmong refugees from Thailand. The delay was implemented last week after the Centers for Disease Control found a cluster of reports of Hmong refugees who'd resettled in the United States with active cases of tuberculosis -- two cases were multiple-drug resistant TB. In Minnesota, there's one confirmed case of tuberculosis among the newly-resettled Hmong refugees and four suspected cases. State epidemiologist Dr. Harry Hull says it's not surprising that the Hmong from the refugee camp in Thailand could have been exposed to tuberculosis.
January 28, 2005 - The resettlement of Hmong refugees to the United States has been temporarily put on hold. US State Department officials have halted the program because they've found a handful of active cases of tuberculosis among newly-resettled Hmong refugees, including one in Minnesota. State health officials are also investigating four other suspected cases of TB. Although tuberculosis is an infectious disease, state epidemiologist Dr. Harry Hull says there's no reason to fear an outbreak.
January 31, 2005 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on Mayor Rybak’s desire to run again. R.T. Rybak, mayor of Minneapolis, formally announced his re-election bid Sunday near the place he started his first campaign for elected office four years ago, almost to the day. At that time, he waged a grassroots battle against an established incumbent he felt was out of touch residents. Now, Rybak has a political track record that makes him the target for challengers. Report includes comments from Linda Longino, mother of slain child Tyesha Edwards; Don Samuels, City Council member; among others.
February 2, 2005 - MPR’s Marianne Combs profiles the Art Shanty Project, a collection of ice houses with an artistic flair. Visitors to Minnesota often stop and wonder at the strange collection of ice fishing shacks that appear on the lakes each winter. On this year, even the locals are stopping to stare at a group of shacks on Medicine Lake in Plymouth.
February 3, 2005 - MPR's Marianne Combs reports on "Mozart in Manhattan," a new opera premiering in St. Paul. So what if Mozart had travelled to America? Combs interviews performers and composer on their thoughts.
February 3, 2005 - Mainstreet Radio’s Dan Gunderson reports on the opera "One False Move" opening in Fargo, which focuses on the emotional pain of girls who are ostracized and bullied. The opera composer says it's a very serious subject that's too long been ignored.
February 4, 2005 - Authorities believe last night's fatal shooting outside a Columbia Heights pool hall involved a gang, but investigators say it wasn't gang related. Anoka County Captain Robert Aldrich says two people were killed and four injured when two large groups of young people clashed.
February 4, 2005 - A grand jury today cleared a Minneapolis police officer of any wrongdoing in the shooting death of a north Minneapolis teenager. Officers say 15-year-old Courtney Williams was carrying a realistic-looking pellet gun.
February 7, 2005 - Late Friday a Hennepin County grand jury decided against charging an officer who shot and killed a teenager last October. But a group of community activists and members of the victim's family are skeptical. The police say 15-year-old Courtney Williams was holding a pellet gun when he was shot by officer Scott Mars. Family members say Williams didn't have the gun when he was shot. And they say there are other questions about the night of the shooting that don't make sense.
February 7, 2005 - Minneapolis police officials support a Hennepin County grand jury decision against charging an officer who shot and killed a teenager last October. But a group of community activists and members of the victim's family are skeptical of the grand jury's findings. The police say 15-year-old Courtney Williams was holding a pellet gun when he was shot by officer Scott Mars. Family members say Williams didn't have the gun when he was shot. Williams' aunt Ella Davis Suggs says they have other questions as well.