November 20, 2003 - State and county budget cuts have affected many Minnesota social service programs. West Central Industries is one organization that's feeling those cuts. The non-profit provides job services for disabled people, and also offers center-based employment in sheltered workshops in Willmar and Hutchinson. The centers serve people with a range of disabilities from 9 different counties. But given the new funding climate, the organization might have to scale back its offerings.
October 31, 2003 - The threat of bioterrorism is now part of our reality. That means new skills are necessary for doctors and nurses. An outbreak of smallpox, an untreatable disease, could be especially dire. Its last known occurrence in the United States was in 1947. So most healthcare practioners don't know what it looks like, let alone, how to treat it. Nothing indicates that smallpox is an imminent threat. Still, hospitals around the country need to plan for a potential outbreak. Doctors in St. Cloud were tired of the same old song and dance, so they came up with a new one. Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter reports. {
October 14, 2003 - In the past few weeks, the town of Cold Spring lost two teenage boys to a school shooting. Rocori High School senior Aaron Rollins died hours after he was shot at school September 24th. Freshman Seth Bartell passed away last Friday. His funeral will take place this Thursday. In the meantime, the Rocori school board has to get back to doing its job..Last night (Monday), the board met to talk about the usual things like budgets and contracts. And they also pondered what's next for the school's response to the shooting. Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter reports.
October 6, 2003 - Two weeks ago, a school shooting dealt a blow to the town of Cold Spring. One student died and another is still in critical condition at St. Cloud Hospital. Everyone deals with trauma differently. But therapists working at the school say kids are resilient and tend to heal well from such emotional wounds. The counselors say their job is to help that healing process along, in the gentlest way possible. Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter reports.
October 6, 2003 - The practice of catch and release is required by law on most Minnesota lakes. That's true on the state's premiere walleye lake, Mille Lacs . Last year, a lot of the walleye released in Lake Mille Lacs died. Biologists at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are studying the matter. They're in the final stages of the biggest walleye study ever conducted on Mille Lacs. Among other things, they need to find out just how bad it is to be a fish out of water. Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter reports. {
September 30, 2003 - It hasn't even been a week, but for the people of Cold Spring, everything is different. They've already mourned and buried one of their own, and still grieve over another, still in critical condition at St. Cloud Hospital, after last Wednesday's school shooting at Rocori. As Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter reports, children and adults are grasping for ways to communicate their feelings.{
September 26, 2003 - Cold Spring is a community where people know each other's business. They're involved in the schools. And even the elderly are connected with teenagers. But feelings have changed. Students and teachers say a 15 year old opened fire on his peers at Rocori High School on Wednesday. One student is dead and another in critical condition. And when a teen acts out so violently, it raises questions of how well adults know their kids. Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter reports.
September 8, 2003 - This evening the St. Cloud city council votes on shaping the future. The council will consider a new comprehensive city plan. Citizens and planners have been working on the issues for a couple of years... and have devloped a very different vision for the city.. As Minnesota Public Radio's Annie Baxter reports.
September 3, 2003 - This past Labor Day weekend, unions across the country announced a new push to increase union membership in the private sector. Membership rates have been on the decline nationally, as in Minnesota. But Minnesota still remains one of the most unionized states in the country, with an almost 20% union membership rate (compared to about 6% in many southern states). And efforts to unionize continue. One such place is in Willmar, Minnesota, where Jennie-O Turkey Store is based. The plant is employing more and more immigrant workers. And union organizers says those workers need help protecting their rights. Minnesota Public Radio's Annie Baxter has this report. {
August 19, 2003 - Minnesota has lost jobs lately, but entrepreneurship is on the rise. In rural Wood Lake, Minnesota, that news is making the paper. Mainstreet Radio's Annie Baxter reports