July 31, 2003 - The Bush economics roadshow is apparently just one of what will be numerous political treks through the Northstar state. President Bush and several Democratic presidential candidates made trips to Minnesota within days of each other last month. Bush is scheduled to return for a campaign stop in St. Paul next month. Both parties consider the state winnable in 2004, and a prominent national political analyst says that, among the states that voted for Gore in the 2000 election, Minnesota is the most likely to vote for Bush next year. Larry Sabato {SAB-ah-toe} is director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. He says Minnesota is no longer a Democratic stronghold.
July 30, 2003 - The McKnight Foundation has named Minneapolis painter Mike Lynch the sixth recipient of its Distinguished Artist Award. The annual award honors an individual who has contributed to the state's tradition of arts and culture, and carries a $40,000 grant. Past winners of the award include poet Robert Bly, choral conductor Dale Warland and book publisher Emilie Buchwald. Lynch works largely between dusk and dawn, capturing images of Minnesota landscapes, buildings and artifacts. Two years ago, he described his catalog of Iron Range colors to Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky.
July 29, 2003 - All Things Considered’s Greta Cunningham talks with Lee Pao Xiong, a local leader in the Hmong community, about housing issues in Twin Cities. Xiong states housing is the foundation for everything.
July 29, 2003 - New federal data shows the AIDS rate is up for the first time in 10 years. In 2002, the number of Americans diagnosed with AIDS increased 2.2-percent. The news is worse in Minnesota. The number of new AIDS cases here rose 6-percent in 2002, largely due to new infections among African immigrants. Bob Tracy is the director of community affairs and education at the Minnesota AIDS Project. He says it's important to pay attention to national trends. But he says Minnesotans should also be aware of what's happening in their own backyard.
July 28, 2003 - Snoring has caused more than a few sleepless nights for snorers and the people who love them. But snoring can go well beyond a minor annoyance. It disturbs sleep patterns and deprives snorers of appropriate rest. At its worst, it can cause serious, long-term health problems, including obstructive sleep apnea. A Minnesota company has designed a treatment to provide snoring sufferers with permanent relief. Susan Critzer, the president and CEO of St. Paul's Restore Medical, says more than 20 million Americans suffer from snoring.
July 25, 2003 - It's a cattle drive of historic proportions. For the first time in 40 years, animals from the U-S have been exported to Cuba. A shipment of one hundred forty cattle and bison from Minnesota and other midwestern states arrived in Cuba yesterday. Agricultural sales are allowed as an exception to the U-S trade embargo against Cuba. Ralph Kaehler , a farmer from St. Charles, coordinated the shipment. Kaehler said the Cuban buyers got more than they bargained for.
July 25, 2003 -
July 24, 2003 - The prosecutor in a high-profile Duluth murder case 26 years ago says tests of DNA on an old envelope confirm the prosecution's case. From the beginning, authorities suspected Roger and Marjorie Caldwell of entering Glensheen mansion and killing Duluth heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her night nurse Velma Pietila. As Elisabeth's adopted daughter, Marjorie Caldwell, stood to inherit a substantial sum from Congdon's 8 million dollar estate. Roger Caldwell was convicted of the murder and Marjorie was aquitted. She was later convicted of arson in an Arizona case and is still serving time. Caldwell committed suicide in 1988, but maintained innocence in his suicide note. John de Santo, one of the prosecutors in the murder case, has just co-authored a book called "Will to Murder." He says new evidence proves the couple's guilt.
July 24, 2003 - The prosecutor in a high-profile Duluth murder case 26 years ago says tests of DNA on an old envelope confirm the prosecution's case. From the beginning, authorities suspected Roger and Marjorie Caldwell of entering Glensheen mansion and killing Duluth heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her night nurse Velma Pietila. As Elisabeth's adopted daughter, Marjorie Caldwell, stood to inherit a substantial sum from Congdon's 8 million dollar estate. Roger Caldwell was convicted of the murder and Marjorie was aquitted. She was later convicted of arson in an Arizona case and is still serving time. Caldwell committed suicide in 1988, but maintained innocence in his suicide note. John de Santo, one of the prosecutors in the murder case, has just co-authored a book called "Will to Murder." He says new evidence proves the couple's guilt.
July 24, 2003 - A new economic study paints a picture of a thriving Twin Cities art scene. University of Minnesota researchers say artists - and in particular dancers and writers - comprise more of the workforce here than in other similar-sized metropolitan areas. And the concentration of artists is growing fast. It's on pace with Seattle and Albuquerque and growing faster than Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas. Ann Markeson is director of the Project on Regional and Industrial Economics at the Humphrey Institute. She says that artists are highly enreprenurial and represent a hidden arts dividend for the economy.