March 19, 2001 - ********** LIVE INTRO AND BACK-ANNOUNCE ************ Driving by outdoor billboards, few of us see anything other than the advertisement. But Joni Johnson, an entrepreneur from Minneapolis, sees a raw material for her business. Her company, called Relan (ra-LON), recycles old billboards into colorful hand bags, and tote bags. Most billboards are made of vinyl. After their time as a billboard is over, the vinyl surface is dirty and wrinkled. For 2 years now, Joni's company has perfected the process of taking the material, and recycling it into fashionable bags. We joined Joni and her operations manager Jonathan Fitz at their warehouse where they cut the tennis-court-sized billboards into workable pieces. Joni says the HUGE images on a billboard make it difficult to describe her much smaller hand bags.
February 27, 2001 -
February 27, 2001 - Kind of like the winter we're living through this year, the stadium debate seems like it will never go away. Yes, it's become as much a part of Minnesota's landscape as snow drifts and Media Jackals. And it's about to explode on the scene . . . again. Soon, the Twins are expected to introduce a new ballpark finance plan, with more PRIVATE money in the proposal than ever. The Vikings will tag along with their own wish list. Minnesota Public Radio's sports commentator Jay Weiner is here to prepare us for the debate.
February 19, 2001 - Dr. Ed Ehlinger at the U of M Boynton health service is interviewed about the cause of death.
February 19, 2001 -
January 24, 2001 - Later today, the St. Paul City Council will meet with St. Paul police chief William Finney to discuss racial profiling. Two weeks ago, the police department released preliminary data on who officers stop on the streets. The data showed that African-Americans and Latinos were more likely to be stopped, AND more likely to be searched, than whites. Joining us on the line is St. Paul City Council member Jerry Blakey, who represents Ward One, just to the west of downtown St. Paul.
January 24, 2001 - This is a special day for Minnesota stamp collectors. That's because postal service officials are in Minneapolis to issue the Roy Wilkins stamp. Wilkins grew up in St. Paul, and was known as the father of civil rights. He headed the N-DOUBLE-A-C-P for over twenty years from the mid 50's to the late 70's. For stamp collectors, it's a rare opportunity to get the stamp on the first day of issuance, which increases the stamp's value. Joining us now is Bill Anderson, president of the Minnesota Federation of Stamp Clubs.
January 18, 2001 - ******** LIVE INTRO and LIVE BACK-ANNOUNCE ******* INTRO: The Twin Cities' most notorius traffic bottleneck was created 34 years ago this month. It's where Crosstown 62 and interstate 35-W join on the border between Minneapolis and Richfield. Officials want to re-construct that common stretch of the highway to increase capacity and make it safer. But to do that, they'll have to close parts of it for several years starting in 2002. The state senate transportation committee will hold a hearing on that plan today. Joining us to talk about the history of the Crosstown and 35-W is Dick Braun (BRAWN), former MINN-DOT commissioner. He was a deputy district engineer at the time the combined highway opened in 1967. He says any discussion of that stretch of roadway has to start with 35-W.
January 10, 2001 - If you started your morning with a bowl of cereal, you probably didn't think much about where it came from. But artist Jeff Morrison is trying to change that. He has a new exhibit at the A-Z Gallery in St. Paul called Cereal Killer. It looks at where we think our food comes from through the eyes of children. The exhibit looks like a classroom. 158 pictures and essays are taped up on the blackboard. They were created by first and second graders in Minneapolis and in rural South Dakota. Morrison asked the kids to answer the question: "Where did your breakfast cereal come from?" I stopped by A-Z Gallery to take a tour with Morrison, who says there's a purpose behind the art.
January 2, 2001 - The new year brings with it a new Congress, a new president, and a new state legislature... all of which will have an affect on Minnesota's health care industry. A number of issues... prescription drug prices, Medicare reform, and a patients bill of rights were major issues during the election. And healthcare costs have gone up sharply the last few years. Joining us to talk about the STATE of the healthcare industry in Minnesota is Dr. John Christianson, director of the University of Minnesota's Carlson School Center for the Study of Healthcare Management.