April 16, 1998 - Students have ended their eight day hunger strike at the University of Minnesota. The students were protesting what they say is a lack of support for the Chinese language and literature program at the university. Student Ben Ridgeway says they ended their hunger strike so they could carry on the cause in good health. Less than half of the original 25 strikers were still fasting when the protest was called off. The hunger strike was staged outside the office of University of Minnesota President Mark Yudof. President Yudof joins us now by phone.
April 15, 1998 - Since Minneapolis began its CODEFOR policing strategy in February violent crime in the city is down 16 percent, property offenses are down 18 percent and crimes against persons are down 12 percent. CODEFOR involves daily police reports on crime hotspots and extensive questioning of suspects in order to produce leads that could result in more arrests. A similar program in New York City has been credited with double-digit decreases in crime rates. Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton says one key is focusing on so-called nuisance crimes.
April 15, 1998 - Minnesota has more to offer the culinary world than just State Fair pronto pups. One of the best examples of a restaurant using local food to create mouthwatering meals is found far north, on the edge of the Boundary waters. The Gunflint Lodge has been serving meals since 1925. When Ron Berg started as chef on 1991, he introduced a rotating menu based on what he had on hand and what he wanted to make. His best recipes are now gathered in a new cookbook called The Gunflint Lodge Cookbook.
April 14, 1998 - A federal judge yesterday upheld the National Park service's decision to block construction of a new bridge over the Saint Croix River. The Minnesota Department of Transportation had planned to build a four-lane freeway-style bridge at Oak Park Heights to replace the old two-lane lift bridge in downtown Stillwater. But U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery supported the park service's view that the bridge would harm the river's special qualities. We talk to Dave Schaaf, mayor of Oak Park Heights, who opposed the project, and Curt Johnson, chair of the Metropolitan Council, which approved it.
April 13, 1998 - Itchy eyes, sneezing, stuffy nose, coughing and wheezing...if you suffer from allergies it's probably obvious to you that spring is running ahead of schedule. Thanks to the mild weather, tree pollen and mold counts are higher than normal for this time of year. That's according to Dr. Rolf Sigford, head of the department of allergy and asthma for Health Partners. He says even though the allergy season has started early, it's hard to say just how bad things will get.
April 13, 1998 - It's the coroprate earnings season again. Starting this week, companies will report their results from the first quarter of 1998 -- and Wall Street will be watching closely. Here's what Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell thinks we can expect.
April 10, 1998 - It will take months... and probably years for Saint Peter, Comfrey and other towns to rebuild following last week's tornadoes. It's likely to take just as long for residents to recover psychologically from the blow. Dr. Gerard Jacobs is Director of the Disaster Mental Health Institute at the University of South Dakota. He says right after a disaster people are running on adrenaline, then there is a period of thankfulness that it wasn't worse. After that, the mental stress can take its toll.
April 10, 1998 - Steven Schier, chair of the Carleton College Political Science Department, discusses politics of the Session.
April 9, 1998 - One of the people keeping a close eye on how things shake out at the Capitol is former State Senator Kevin Chandler. Chandler is now a lobbyist and President of the Minnesota Credit Union Network. He disagrees with the speculation that Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe was holding out on the hockey deal as a way to damage the gubernatorial ambitions of Saint Paul Mayor Norm Coleman.
April 8, 1998 - In 1993, Reno Air began offering low-cost flights from the Twin Cities to Reno Nevada. Northwest Airlines quickly responded by introducing cheaper fares on overlapping routes. Within months, Reno Air pulled out of the Twin Cities...and Northwest hiked its fares once again. Small airlines say that's an example of predatory pricing that Northwest and other large airlines use to stifle competition at their hub airports. The US Department of Transportation this week proposed a set of new rules that would penalize airlines for doing that. Mike Boyd is an airline industry analyst and head of the Boyd Group based in Colorado. He doesn't think the rules will make it any easier for small airlines to gain a toehold in markets like the Twin Cities.