August 21, 2003 - It has been a troubling couple of years for the airline industry. But an executive for United Airlines said yesterday that the company has turned a corner and has begun to acheive stability. The major airlines still face challenges. Nowhere is that more apparent than at Eagan-based Northwest Airlines. Northwest is asking for mediation help in talks with its largest union while at the same time taking a number of measures to save cash. Northwest received permission from the federal government to supplement pension funds with stock in a subsidiary, and the airline has been criticized for backpedaling on a noise abatement agreement with residents who live near the Twin Cities airport. Joel Denney is an airline analyst with the investment firm US Bancorp Piper Jaffray. He says Northwest's situation was always better than United's, but that Northwest still faces serious obstacles.
August 21, 2003 - The head of the state's treatment program for sexual psychopaths has announced he's leaving his position in September. Dr. Michael Farnsworth also oversees mental health evaluations and criminal commitments for patients who commit non-sex-related crimes. But a recent controversy about moving sex offenders from state hospitals to less restrictive settings thrust him into the spotlight. The plan called for eventually moving some patients into the community under state supervision. Following some criticism when talks of releasing offenders became public, Governor Pawlenty issued an executive order barring any release without a court order. Farnsworth is stepping down to start a private forensic psychiatry consultation business which will allow him more direct contact with patients. He says that there was no political pressure to leave his position.
August 20, 2003 - Several areas of Minnesota finally got a much-desired sprinkle of rain over the past twenty-four hours. Rainfall last night ranged from 1-point-4 inches in Windom to point-3 inches in Minneapolis. But don't put away the hose just yet. Pete Boulay is an assistant state climatologist. He says a short rainfall is not nearly enough to reverse effects of the long dry spell statewide.
August 18, 2003 - MPR’s Jayne Solinger talks with Tom Brown, with the U-S Coast Guard in Duluth, about high waves that caused unusually strong currents in Lake Superior. The dangerous conditions prompted the closing of beaches in Minnesota and Wisconsin for the day.
August 14, 2003 - Minneapolis' Brave New Workshop theater claims to be the longest-running satirical comedy theatre in the country, and to celebrate its forty-fifth birthday the theater is bringing in a writer who's likely to take issue with that distinction. Jeffrey Sweet is the resident playwright of Chicago's Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre, which has produced ten of his shows including "Flyovers", "American Enterprise", and "The Value of Names." He conducts workshops for writers and has written two books about writing plays. He's also written the history of Chicago's Second City theater, a troupe he contends has even deeper roots than the Brave New Workshop. He'll spar with Dudley Riggs at the Brave New Workshop's anniversary celebration tonight. He says troupes like Riggs' and Second City carry on the one of the true purposes of theater.
August 14, 2003 - MPR’s Jayne Solinger interviews R.T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis. Rybak delivered a 1.2 billion-dollar 2004 budget this afternoon. The mayor proposes to avoid further layoffs by drawing down the city s rainy day fund. He plans to rehire thirty-four firefighters laid off this year and add a class police recruits, which had been cut from the last budget. The budget isn't painless by any means. Most Minneapolis homeowners will see their property tax bills rise 18%. Rybak calls the budget the "Light at the end of the tunnel."
August 14, 2003 - Minneapolis' Brave New Workshop theater claims to be the longest-running satirical comedy theatre in the country, and to celebrate its forty-fifth birthday the theater is bringing in a writer who's likely to take issue with that distinction. Jeffrey Sweet is the resident playwright of Chicago's Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theatre, which has produced ten of his shows including "Flyovers"... "American Enterprise"... and "The Value of Names." He conducts workshops for writers and has written two books about writing plays. He's also written the history of Chicago's Second City theater, a troupe he contends has even deeper roots than the Brave New Workshop. He'll spar with Dudley Riggs at the Brave New Workshop's anniversary celebration tonight. He says troupes like Riggs' and Second City carry on the one of the true purposes of theater.
August 13, 2003 - Commentator Hans Eisenbeis has noticed a spate of stories over the past few months involving Minnesota children and their vulnerabilities. Some have died, others critically injured, others still simply vanished. It's got him thinking about death and his daughter Phoebe.
August 13, 2003 - California voters will get a taste of Minnesota in their gubernatorial recall election campaign. Dean Barkley, who founded Minnesota's independence party and orchestrated Jesse Ventura's 1998 election win, has been brought on board to direct California independent candidate Arianna Huffington's campaign. Barkley also served as interim senator after the death of Paul Wellstone last fall. He says he intends to pattern Huffington's run after Jesse Ventura's miracle victory.
August 13, 2003 - Commentator Hans Eisenbeis has noticed a spate of stories over the past few months involving Minnesota children and their vulnerabilities. Some have died, others critically injured, others still simply vanished. It's got him thinking about death and his daughter Phoebe.