July 8, 2003 - An English teacher in Japan has caused an international stir by exposing some strange coincidences between the recent lyrics of Bob Dylan and a book by Japanese doctor and writer Junichi Saga. Chris Johnson, a native of Minnesota, is a Dylan aficionado who happened across Saga's "Confessions of a Yakuza" in a Japanese book store. Saga's book is an oral history of a gangster who was one of Saga's patients. On a Dylan internet site, Johnson claims that lines on Dylan's latest album "Love and Theft" were lifted from Saga's book. Paul Williams is the editor of the Rock N Roll magazine "Crawdaddy," and the author of several books on Dylan's music. He says it's not the first time Dylan has taken a line from another writer.
July 7, 2003 - Researchers at the University of Minnesota have been awarded three million dollars from The National Institutes of Health. The money will fund a four-year study to learn why some patients see little improvement from treatments for H-I-V, the virus that causes AIDS. Dr. Timothy Schacker is the principle investigator for the new study. He says the NIH money will allow researchers to investigate why damage to the lymph nodes prevents the immune system from responding to anti-retroviral therapy.
July 4, 2003 - Here's a tasty dinnertime topic... food-borne illness. The fourth of July is ground zero for grilled meats of all ilks -- which of course are notorious for harboring nasty diseases like e coli and salmonella. Mike Osterholm is director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. He says people often get distracted by holiday celebrations and forget to practice important food preparation techniques.
July 3, 2003 - The Mensa convention isn't the only national gathering in town this weekend featuring an elite class of folks with highly-developed skills and lightning quick reflexes. The US Table Soccer National championships are taking place in Minneapolis. What's table soccer, you ask Most people know this "sport" as Foosball. Greg Elliot is one of the directors of the tournament. He says this weekend's competition will bring in up to 500 foosball players from across the nation.
July 3, 2003 -
July 2, 2003 - The nation's largest private employer, Walmart, announced today it's expanding its anti-discrimination policy to protect gay and lesbian employees. The company said the change in policy was the right thing to do for its employees. The announcement comes in the wake of a number of developments concerning gay and lesbian rights, including a court decision in Canada that allows gay marriage and the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against sodomy prohibitions. Phil Duran says Walmart's new policy is an important step for a large-scale retailer.
July 1, 2003 - It's the oldest admonition in parenting: "eat your vegetables." A study published in today's American Journal of Public Health found that teenagers won't, particularly when their schools give them the option of vending machine food and fried potatoes. Researchers at the University of Minnesota studied the eating habits of 7th grade students at 16 schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul. They found teens in schools with vending machines skipped more of the food they should eat daily, compared with their peers at other schools. Professor Martha Kubik (CUE-bik) was the lead author of the study. She says the report proves just how much influence a school's food offerings can have on students' health.
July 1, 2003 - Joggers in Duluth claim to have spotted three cougars near a residential apartment complex yesterday morning. The Department of Natural Resources hasn't confirmed the sightings. The agency says about 50 cougar sightings are reported each year, but most of the animals turn out to be large house cats or even yellow Labrador dogs. Mark Dowling is more optimistic. Dowling is one of the founders of the Eastern Cougar Network, a group of wildlife enthusiasts who have gathered evidence of the cougar's presence in the Midwest. He says the reintroduction of the cougar is one of the most amazing big-carnivore comeback stories in history.
June 25, 2003 - The storm system that swept through Minnesota last night left some major flooding in its wake. Twin Cities area highways and streets were under water after as much as six inches of rain fell overnight. In Alexandria, rain which started on Sunday continued through Tuesday. Troy Wolbersen is the chief deputy at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. He says the flooding in Alexandria was accompanied by wind gusts that reached 73 miles per hour.
June 25, 2003 -