July 9, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio’s Leif Enger interviews Wayne Johnson, author of the crime novel "Don't Think Twice." The hero of book, Paul Two Persons, is a Ivy-League educated Chippewa, and owns a remote lodge on Lake of the Woods. Two Persons finds himself in serious trouble when he returns to the reservation he grew up on. The book relies heavily on the land and waters of northern Minnesota, and the traditions of the Indians who live there.
July 5, 1999 - MPR’s Lorna Benson talks with Mark Van Every, spokesperson for the Superior National Forest Service in Duluth, about the BWCA storms. Van Every says it was the worst storm his office has seen the the past decade.
July 2, 1999 - Judy Dwarkin, director of public relations at the Humane Society, talks about the first annual "Dog Day at the Dome." 150 dogs will gather for the Twins game event that includes a parade around the field and a dog owner look-alike contest. Dwarkin says the dogs won't be disappointed.
July 1, 1999 - The Minnesota Vikings are launching a statewide campaign for a new stadium. The team rejected a proposal from the Minnesota Sports Facilities Commission to turn the Metrodome into a football only stadium for less than half the cost of building a new one. Instead, the Vikings want a 70,000-seat roofed football-only stadium that would cost at least 400- million dollars. Vikings owner Red McCombs says he thinks Minnesotans are behind him.
June 28, 1999 - The Minnesota Corrections Department has a new plan to offer inmates access to higher education. Administrators at the department cut the program earlier this year because it was funded with tax dollars. Now the program will be paid for with money inmates pay to use prison telephones. Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Sheryl Ramstad Hvass has been fighting to have the program restored.
June 24, 1999 - University of Minnesota President Mark Yudof says the university will probably impose sanctions on its men's basketball program. He is considering banning the team from post season competition. Keith Lee is the Director of the Western Region Consortium for Academics and Sports. Lee says self-imposed sanctions are a good way for universities to prove they are concerned about the integrity of their athletic programs, but they can be costly.
June 22, 1999 - The first official week of summer is also the first week of summer school for thousands of kids in the twin cities. In St. Paul, summer school is mandatory for some students who did poorly on state tests. Only a little more than half of all registerd students showed up for the first day of class yesterday. Cy Yusten is an assistant superintendant for the St. Paul Schools. He says the idea that school is back in session sometimes takes a few days to sink in.
June 21, 1999 - To close out the millennium, Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered presents a look back at Minnesota life in 1900 via a 12-part series, entitled “A Minnesota Century.” This segment is the story of journalist Eva McDonald. Her work exposing the harsh conditions endured by women in the new factories propelled her into the forefront of the very male world of labor politics.
June 11, 1999 - The University of Minnesota Board of Regents has a new chair. Patricia Spence was elected to the position today. Spence is a homemaker and former mayor of Little Falls. She has been on the board since 1995. Her appointment comes in the midst of an investigation into accusations of academic fraud and sexual misconduct in the University's men's basketball program. Spence says she's ready to hear the evidence being gathered by investigators. But she says unfortunately it may be quite a while before she gets that chance.
June 8, 1999 - A popular Guthrie Actress is taking on a new role as a Children's book author. Isabelle Monk's first book, "Hope" looks at what its like to grow up as a bi-racial child. The story started out as a Christmas gift for her friend's new baby. Monk wanted the child to grow up feeling pround of her mixed heritage. She drew pictures for her story, had the pages laminated at kinkos, and wrapped it up in Christmas ribbon.