April 15, 2005 - When the nominees gather tomorrow night to hear the winners of the Minnesota Book Awards, they'll have several things in common. Many of the nominees have spent time at a writers retreat at a little-known campus just outside Red Wing. The Anderson Center is the largest artist residence in Minnesota, and the writers who have been there say it changed their lives and their work.
April 16, 2005 - There are two confirmed cases of tuberculosis and four suspected cases among Hmong refugees who recently resettled in Minnesota. State health officials say all of the patients are being treated. Several T-B cases were identified in the newly-arriving refugee population in January, prompting the federal government to slow the resettlement. New screening procedures are in place to identify and treat any TB cases before refugees enter the United States. Ann O'Fallon is the refugee coordinator for the state Department of Health. She says no other major health problems have been identified. She also says children, who make up about half of the refugee population, are doing well.
April 16, 2005 - About 15- to 17-hundred more Hmong refugees are expected in Minnesota as part of a massive resettlement from Thailand. But the resettlement process remains slow because of tuberculosis cases identified earlier this year among the refugees. Two confirmed cases and four suspected cases were identified in Minnesota. Ann O'Fallon, the refugee coordinator for the state Department of Health, says all of those patients are being treated. The Centers for Disease Control began a more intensive screening process to treat the refugees before they enter the United States, causing the slowdown in resettlement. O'Fallon says the delay has been difficult.
April 17, 2005 - The winners of the 17th annual Minnesota Book Awards include a Macalester College anthropology professor and a former investigative reporter whose father was a bank robber. Minnesota Public Radio's Phil Picardi has more.
April 20, 2005 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Rick Linsk, reporter at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, about Vang Pao Foundation. The non-profit foundation named for General Vang Pao, a leader in the Hmong community, faces a law suit from the office of State Attorney General Mike Hatch. The suit alleges that the Vang Pao Foundation engaged in questionable spending, and bypassed state charity laws.
May 6, 2005 - St. Paul Police officials say they're confident they are holding the two men who allegedly shot and killed a St. Paul police officer early this morning. Sgt. Gerald Vick was gunned down outside a bar in East St. Paul's Dayton's Bluff neighborhood. For hours legions of law enforcment officers searched a 1 and 1/2 mile square area of the neighborhood where the shooting took place. It was the first fatal shooting of a police officer in St. Paul since 1994 when two members of the department were shot on the same day, in the same part of the city.
May 6, 2005 - St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington says several arrests have been made in this mornings fatal shooting of Sergeant Jerry Vick on the city's East Side. Police say two of the suspects in custody appear to be dressed in clothing that is similar to what the suspects were wearing when they fled the crime scene. Police say they're still searching the area and aren't certain that they have the people who shot Vick in custody. Harrington says Vick was working with Sergeant Joe Strong when the two encountered at least two men in an alley. Vick was shot several times. Harrington said Strong returned the gunfire, but didn't say if either suspect was hit. Strong was not injured. Harrington says Vick's loss is being felt by the entire police department.
May 6, 2005 - Police Sergeant Jerry Vick will be remembered tonight in Saint Paul by fellow officers, city officials and community members who have worked with him. Vick was shot to death early this morning in the line of duty.
May 6, 2005 - St. Paul police say they have arrested several possible witnesses or suspects in the first fatal shooting of a St. Paul police officer since 1994. St. Paul Police Sergeant Jerry Vick was shot several times outside of a bar on St. Paul's east side. Vick died later at Regions Hospital. Police chief John Harrington says authorities are still searching the area, and he's uncertain if any of those arrested are the people who shot Vick. Vick has been with the St. Paul police department since 1989. He has received two medals of commendation for his work as a police officer. Former Police Chief William Finney promoted Vick to sergeant in 1999. He says Vick was a "hard charging cop."
May 6, 2005 - St. Paul Police say they are holding two men in the early morning shooting death of St. Paul Police Sgt. Gerald Vick.