December 2, 2003 - In the weeks prior to his fatal car crash in August, hockey icon Herb Brooks was working with local author Ross Bernstein on several projects, including a book about great coaches in the state. Bernstein had seen Brooks the morning of his death, and was devastated by the loss. As Bernstein talked with people in the days that followed, he realized how deeply the coach had affected those who knew him -- and knew of him. So a second book was born. "Remembering Herbie: Celebrating the Life and Times of Hockey Legend Brooks" has just been published. Bernstein says the range of people who wanted to take part were a testament to Brooks' influence.
December 1, 2003 - December can be a big month for car sales, and this year business owners have added incentive to take advantage of year-end deals, particularly on large SUVs. Part of President Bush's economic stimulus package includes a full deduction for new business equipment up to $100,000. Previously, the deduction was capped at $25,000. What's kicked up the most interest -- and controversy -- is the large vehicle provision. Vehicles weighing more than 6,000 pounds -- which includes large pickups and SUVs -- can be claimed as business purchases and fully deducted. Smaller vehicles are not eligible for the full deduction. Environmentalists have criticized the provision, and Democrats in the House and Senate are already preparing legislation to eliminate the tax break. Todd Koch is an accountant in Falcon Heights. He says that originally, the large vehicle deduction was intended for use by farmers.
November 27, 2003 - In a world of cell phones and instant messaging, one Minnesota family has discovered that an old method of communication can connect them with people an ocean away. They send messages in bottles. Over the years, Jayne and Ron Lieske <lease key> have slipped more than 100 notes into old wine bottles and thrown them into the sea. One of their messages rode the ocean currents some 1600 miles to Cuba. And it was the catalyst for a unique international relationship.
November 26, 2003 - Major League baseball recently announced that it will begin mandatory testing for steroids next season. The league said that between five and seven percent of its players who were tested this year tested positive -- and that level triggered a provision in the new labor agreement stipulating mandatory testing. Baseball's new "get somewhat tough" approach is just one story in a flurry of recent news involving athletes and the use of performance enhancers. Dr. Jon Hallberg is a team physician for the Minnesota Twins and medical director of the University of Minnesota primary care clinic. He says the new testing policy could reveal just how much steroid use there really is in the major league.
November 26, 2003 - Eleven female high school student-athletes today filed suit to compel the Minnesota State High School League to hold the State Girls' Hockey Tournament in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, starting this season. The tournament is scheduled to take place in Ridder Arena, on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Ridder Arena, which was built as home arena to the U of M women's hockey team, holds about 2700 fans; Excel Center, where the boys' tournament is held, could hold as many as 18,000. The lawsuit alleges holding the tournaments at different venues is a violation of Title IX, which mandates equal athletic opportunity. Bob Gilbertson is one of the attorneys representing the families bringing the lawsuit; he's an attorney with Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi. He says he's heard the argument that Excel is just too big to hold an event like the girls tournament. But he says he doesn't agree.
November 24, 2003 - The designs for the Minnesota quarter don't exist in actual visual design form -- yet. That's a job that's left to the U-S Mint. But it got us at Minnesota Public Radio thinking, if you can describe a design with just words, could you do it with just sounds? And if Minnesota could be summed up in sounds, what would they be? Here's what we came up with.
November 24, 2003 - Minnesota is one step closer to forging a permanent identity in the nation's coin purses and change pockets. The state's quarter dollar commission met this afternoon to narrow down the list of design ideas for the state's commemorative quarter. The short list of ideas will be forwarded to the U-S Mint, which must approve of the finalists. Then the public will have an opportunity to weigh in. Tony Sertich is a state representative from Chisholm who sits on the quarter commission. He says the group will narrow the submissions down to five main themes.
November 20, 2003 - Midwestern governors like Tim Paulenty are disappointed to hear that a drug importation plan backed by the House was dropped from the final Medicare bill.
November 19, 2003 - More than ten-thousand high-tech jobs in Minnesota vanished between 2001 and 2002. Minnesota actually did better than the nation as a whole, which saw a twelve percent drop in high-tech jobs in the last two years. Across the country, employers in the industry that led the economic boom of the 1990s are on pace to lay off nearly a quarter million more people this year. But a new industry report says jobs losses in the high-tech sector are slowing down. Kate Rubin is president of the Minnesota High-Tech Association. She says when it comes to the vitality of the high-tech industry, Minnesota typically follows national trends.
November 18, 2003 - The St. Paul Companies announced yesterday (Tues) that it will merge with Travelers Property Casualty Corporation, creating the nation's second largest commercial insurer. The sixteen-billion-dollar stock deal calls for the company to keep its corporate headquarters in St. Paul. But some employees say the merger raises questions about job security and the future of the company's corporate culture. Susan Seitel says that's no longer the case.