January 7, 2000 - Minnesota House Republicans are proposing a Privacy Bill of Rights for Minnesotans. Republicans want to stop state government agencies from selling mailing lists, and force telemarketers to register with the state. The proposal drew criticism from DFL state attorney general Mike Hatch. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Catlin reports. Republican house majority leader Tim Pawlenty says the electronic exchange of personal data can be frightening.
December 30, 1999 - 1999 was another big year for corporate mergers. When New Jersey based Allied Signal bought Honeywell for nearly 16 billion dollars, it became the second year in a row that Minnesota lost the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company. In 1998, Minneapolis had lost the corporate offices of Norwest Bank when it acquired Wells Fargo and moved its top executives to San Francisco. It's clear the forces driving such mergers will continue -- even though investors are increasingly skeptical of buyouts. Bill Catlin of Minnesota Public Radio has the next in our series of reports on the year ahead.
December 16, 1999 - Eden Prairie based Best Buy has announced a joint marketing partnership with Microsoft. The software giant will also buy 200 million dollars worth of Best buy stock.
December 3, 1999 - About 100 leaders from business, education and government met in Minneapolis yesterday to assess Minnesota's position as a center for high technology and innovation. Most participants said the state is either falling behind or playing catchup. The conference was sponsored by the Minnesota Public Radio Civic Journalism Initiative. Bill Catlin has the final report of our series, Minnesota in the Dot Com Age.
November 30, 1999 -
November 17, 1999 - This week, MPR is reporting on threats to personal privacy in the digital age in The Surveillance Society. In the workplace, the exploding use of computer networks, e-mail and the internet, and other digital technologies have made it easy for companies to monitor their employees. And a growing number of employers are starting to keep tabs on workers. But the results can lead to serious problems for management and labor.
October 8, 1999 - The men heading up the partnership to buy the twins are no strangers to professional sports. Glen Taylor owns the Minnesota Timberwolves, while Robert Naegele is managing partner of the Minnesota Wild hockey team.
September 14, 1999 - Twin Cities based Best Buy company, the nation's leading consumer electronics retailer.. releases its second quarter earnings today. The company's share price has fallen percent since hitting a high of 79 last July. The drop reflected fears in some quarters that higher interest rates and other factors could hurt consumers's buying sentiment. If the company's earnings report falls short of Wall Street's expectations, the stock could plunge further. But several analysts say the company's prospects remain good.
September 1, 1999 - Shareholders of both Honeywell and AlliedSignal today approved the New Jersey based company's 15 billion dollar buyout of Honeywell. At the Honeywell headquarters, which the company has put up for sale, CEO Michael Bonsignore told shareholders the company had to do something dramatic to retain control of its own destiny.
August 16, 1999 - A new survey indicates Minnesota companies received a record one-hundred-eight million dollars in venture capital funding in the second quarter of this year. Venture capital generally refers to investments in start-up firms that are not yet mature enough to seek funding in the stock market. However as Bill Catlin reports, Minnesota still lags in the share of venture capital it receives.