December 12, 1997 - At the beginning of the month, the FBI began testing out a DNA registry designed to catch sex offenders by matching their genetic profiles to DNA found at crime scenes. The National DNA Index System already contains the genetic profiles of 75-thousand convicted felons and it's being tried out first in Minnesota and seven other states. 36 states already have their own DNA registries, but the national system is intended to help catch offenders who cross state lines. But some concerns remain about the fallibility of DNA matching. We talk to John Sheehy, a defense attorney and partner with Meshbesher and Spence, and prosecutor Steve Redding, Assistant Hennepin County Attorney.
December 9, 1997 - The McKnight Foundation is issuing more than 15 million dollars in grants to help move welfare recipients in Minnesota into work. The foundation is funding twenty-one partnerships around the state made up of local employers, community groups and branches of government. The money is intended to help an estimated 34 thousand welfare recipients get job training, child care, transportation and other services they need to find and hold down a job. The Headwaters Regional Development Commission in Bemidji was the first partnership to receive its grant last September. David Hengel is the Economic Development Director.
April 18, 1997 - Testing, treating and cleaning wells after flooding
April 18, 1997 - MPR’s Bob Potter interviews Grand Forks police official Byron Sieber about flooding in the town and a mandatory evacuation order.
April 2, 1997 - MPR’s Bob Potter interviews Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton about an arbitrator’s decision than former Minneapolis police officer Mike Sauro is to be reinstated, after being fired by the city for second time. Sayles Belton shares why she disagrees with the decision, her concerns over off-duty work by officers in businesses that serve alcohol, and need for officer training.
April 2, 1997 - MPR’s Bob Potter interviews Donald Schwert, a geologist at North State University, about the dynamics of Red River that make it prone to flooding.
December 24, 1996 -
December 19, 1996 -
December 19, 1996 -
November 27, 1996 -