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.
April 8, 1998 - President Clinton led a discussion yesterday in Kansas City on how to fix Social Security. Clinton warned against completely privatizing Social Security although he didn't rule out the idea of allowing some private investment. He also said the program could be saved without increasing payroll taxes. Social Security is expected to come under increasing strain as the baby boom generation retires from the workforce. Yesterday's forum was the first in a series intended to spark a national debate over the program's future. But political science professor Larry Jacobs at the University of Minnesota says that debate is already well underway. He joins me now.
April 8, 1998 - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing that states have more freedom in killing Canada geese to keep the birds' growing population in check. About 25 thousand Canada geese are on their way back to the Twin Cities for the summer. Thanks to the early spring, many have already arrived. Goose hunting is not allowed in the metro area, so the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has to intervene to control the population. Last year more than five thousand geese were captured and either relocated out of state or processed for local food shelves. Still, urban geese are numerous and they can get on the nerves of homeowners. Tom Landwehr is the DNR's wetland wildlife program leader.
April 7, 1998 - Under terms of a tentative deal reached late last night by DFL leaders, Minnesotans would receive about 500 million dollars in property tax rebates. They would get another 400 million dollars in permanent property tax rate reductions. The plan also would have the state pay cash for capital projects rather than borrow since it has a one-point-nine billion dollar surplus. House Speaker Phil Carruthers joins us now.
April 7, 1998 - In sports, the Minnesota Twins play the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at the Metrodome and the Minnesota Timberwolves are at home tonight against the Miami Heat. Starting next summer there might be a new team added to the professional sports schedule in Minnesota. The Timberwolves and the NBA are considering whether to bring a WNBA franchise to town. The WNBA is the women's professional basketball league that started play last summer. Joining me now to discuss that is MPR sports commentator Jay Weiner.
April 6, 1998 - MPR’s Bob Potter talks with Reverends David Johnson and Ronald Smith. The pastors say they've been trying to lead a joint church - and the broader community - in a difficult process called racial reconciliation.
April 6, 1998 - Legislative leaders are pledging to adjourn and go home this week -- even though two of this year's stickiest issues remain unresolved. House and Senate negotiators met over the weekend to talk about the Saint Paul hockey arena, and Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste joins us from our capitol bureau to bring us up to speed.
April 2, 1998 - At Mounds Park Academy in Saint Paul students will be handing out anti-tobacco literature today. Helen Nelson is a health teacher at Mounds Park. She says the way to reach kids is to be honest with them.