January 4, 2000 - A judge has ruled Donald Blom's confession to kidnapping and killing Katie Poirier is admissable at his trial. Blom's attorneys argued the confession was protected as part of a failed plea agreement. The judges ruling elevates the importance of an already controversial case. It is the first time Minnesota courts have considered whether a defendant can make a confession OUTSIDE of plea negotiations, thus waiving his or her own rights. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports. Last September Donald Blom confessed to kidnapping and killing
December 31, 1999 - Tonight as wishes for a happy new year echo around the world, occupants of the St. Scholastica chapel in Duluth will make more specific wishes: prayers for peace, love and justice in the new century. The Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery are joining 40 monasteries around the country to observe the dawn of the new millennium with a twelve-hour prayer vigil from 7 tonight until 7 tomorrow morning. Area religious leaders and members of the public are also invited to attend.
December 30, 1999 - David and Johanna Hecker are devout Christians who have been living for 22 years in Northeast Minnesota, on land they call God's wilderness. When they heard about the anticipated problems with Y-2-K, they advertised, offering to sell land to other Christian, home-schooling families, and help build cabins to avoid any millennial disruptions. Visitors arrived from all over the country. But as Mainstreet Radio's Amy Radil reports, things haven't quite worked out as the Heckers hoped.
December 10, 1999 - In Carlton County court today, Donald Blom's attorneys argued for moving his trial for kidnapping and killing Katie Poirier. Then attorneys debated whether Blom's September 8th confession should be admissible in court. And for the first time, the text of that confession was made public.
December 9, 1999 - Despite a rocky start, Duluth's Technology Village could be finding its feet. The project's been the center of controvery: Downtown businesses were displaced, and old buildings demolished to make room, with citizens protesting a lack of public input. The Technology Village president resigned in June. Then the project became a hot topic in November's mayoral and city council elections, with critics calling the building a city-subsidized failure. But the tide may be turning, with the arrival of new tenants for the building.
November 24, 1999 - Duluth's three Edison Schools will keep their charter for three more years. Last night the Duluth school board narrowly voted to renew the contract after more than two hours of contentious debate. Critics -- and even some allies -- of Edison Schools, Inc., a for-profit company based in New York, said the vote was premature because the contract does not expire until next summer. New school board members set to take office in January are known to oppose the Edisons schools. But Edison proponents said they need to know where they stand with the Duluth board in order to properly plan for the next school year.
November 9, 1999 - The past decade has seen the rise of enormous chain bookstores in the malls and on the web, and the resulting demise of many small independent book-sellers. But the big shadows of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble haven't blotted out small, independent publishers, and in some cases the large operations have been an asset. In Duluth's tightly knit publishing community, small presses are using technology and marketing savvy to carve out their own niches. They say it's a good time to be in the business.... or at least as good as it ever gets doing business on a shoestring.
November 8, 1999 - Resort owners on Minnesota's Northwest Angle are breathing a sigh of relief at news that Ontario has dropped fishing restrictions the resorters claimed threatened to drive them out of business. The resort owners in the sparsely populated region tried for years to draw national attention to their plight, and finally suggested seceding from the U.S. and joining Manitoba. But it was the possibility of a legal judgment under NAFTA that persuaded the Canadian government to change its rules.
November 3, 1999 - Election results in Duluth brought significant turnover among city council and school board members, with both bodies likely taking on a more labor-friendly and liberal tone. But labor-endorsed candidates did not sweep either body, and some extremely close votes had candidates pondering the mixed messages voters sent. Voters' intentions were clearer in races for mayor and state legislature were more sweeping: Mayor Gary Doty easily won a third term, and D-F-Ler Dale Swapinski won Willard Munger Senior's former legislative seat by a wide margin.
November 1, 1999 - Duluth residents will vote tomorrow on school board seats and a $6.6 million dollar bond referendum to improve school athletic facilities. They'll also vote on five city council seats and the mayor's office. The city's role and direction in future planning has been a hot topic in the mayor's race between longshot candidate Greg Gilbert and incumbent Gary Doty,.