July 18, 2003 - The Census Bureau reports that there aren't many places in the country adding new housing faster than Isanti County. The county -- just north of the Twin Cities metro area -- is the nation's 13th fastest-growing county. From July 2001 to July 2002, the number of housing units rose six-point-one per cent. More than 700 new units were built, primarily around Cambridge and Isanti. Curt Becker is the Isanti County assessor. He says the county's national ranking came as a surprise.
July 17, 2003 - It's been the object of devotion and derision... it's been bandied about by scientists, academics and amateur sleuths. And now the Kensington Runestone is being hauled to Sweden. Farmer Olaf Ohman unearthed the runestone on his western Minnesota farm back in 1898. The rock bears an inscription which some believe to be the writings of Nordic explorers dating from the year 1392. But many academics over the years have pronouced the runestone a modern forgery. Swedish scientists are holding a conference in October to study the Kensington Runestone and recent evidence that supports its validity. Geologist Scott Wolter runs a forensic geology business in the Twin Cities. He first heard of the runestone three years ago when he was hired by the Runestone museum in Alexandria to conduct tests.
July 16, 2003 - Visitors to downtown Minneapolis will soon have their actions caught on camera. The Minneapolis Council gave final approval last week to a deal with the Target Corporation to purchase surveillance cameras for the city's so-called "safe zone" -- a 10-block area in downtown Minneapolis' entertainment district. Target will give the city 250-thousand dollars for the project. Council member Scott Benson, who represents the city's 11th ward, cast one of the four votes against accepting the gift. Benson takes issue with the argument that only lawbreakers should be concerned about being on camera.
July 15, 2003 - Consumer watchdogs say the problem of slamming has plagued the telecommunications industry since phone service became deregulated and competition grew to sign up customers. Slamming occurs when a customer -- without his or her consent -- is transferred from one long distance provider to another. Many consumers are not aware they've been slammed until they notice changes on their phone bill. Rob Tongren is the president of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates. He says companies engaged in slamming have a number of ways to sign up unsuspecting customers.
July 15, 2003 - What's billed as the largest youth soccer tournament in the Western Hemisphere is underway this week at the National Sports Center in Blaine. The Schwan's USA Cup hosts over 800 teams from 30 states and 18 countries. Handling the tens of thousands of athletes and spectators requires the services of over a thousand volunteers. Dan Barnes of Maple Grove is one of them. He's been taking the week off to attend the tournament since it started 19 years ago -- first as the coach of his sons' team, then as a volunteer. He says it was the sport of soccer itself that first drew him in.
July 14, 2003 - Not many people reside in the Northwest Angle, that region on Minnesota's northern border that looks like a slip of the map-maker's pen. But for 57 years, the folks who do live there relied on Don Hanson to get them their mail. That ended a couple of weeks ago when the 86-year-old Hanson hung up his mail bag. Hanson started his run from Warroad to the Angle and the tiny outpost of Angle Inlet before there were roads to get him there. Over the years, he's made the mail run by bush plane, boat, even snowmobile. Despite the remote route, he says his duties weren't all that remarkable.
July 11, 2003 - A steady stream of family and friends arrived today at the home of a Wisconsin reservist killed under attack this week in Iraq. Sergeant First Class Dan Gabrielson lived in Frederic - about an hour northeast from the Twin Cities. He's survived by his wife and three children. Gabrielson was forty years old had been serving in the Army Reserve for 20-years. Gabrielson's oldest daughter, Vanessa, says her father believed he was doing the right thing in Iraq. The twenty-year old says this was this first time her father had been deployed overseas.
July 11, 2003 - The death of Dan Gabrielson highlights the fact that reservists range widely in age and backgrounds. Staff Sgt. Roland ROE-land Ward is an Army Reserve Recruiter in the Coon Rapids office. He says the Army Reserve troops currently in Iraq are in charge of combat service support.
July 10, 2003 - The St. Paul woman charged with throwing her twin 14-month-old sons into the Mississippi River last week appears to have prompted repeated crisis calls to the police. An analysis of police records by the Star Tribune shows that police were called to the address of Naomi Gaines twenty-one times in the past three years. Gaines was charged with murder and attempted murder after throwing her sons off the Wabasha Street bridge on July 4th. Two of the calls were termed "family/children-child abuse," and two others "death-attempted suicide". The remaining 18 calls were cleared by officers who told dispatchers they advised people at the scene. Sargent Chris Nelson says the St. Paul Police Department has been working closely with crisis units for over twelve years. He doesn't think the Gaines case is indicative of a procedural problem at the police department.
July 8, 2003 - Fridley-based Medtronic announced it has received the FDA's blessing to market what it calls an "intelligent" insulin pump and glucose monitoring system. The new system combines a Medtronic MiniMed insulin pump with a glucose monitor from Becton Dickinson to check blood sugar, calculate the insulin needed and signal an implanted pump to send the right dose. Jeff McCaulley is Vice President and General Manager of Medtronic's Mini-Med division. He says the new device could transform the lives of the estimated four million diabetics who depend on insulin to regulate their blood sugar.