March 19, 2001 - The Minnesota Department of Corrections made 2-MILLION dollars last year on inmates' telephone calls. Some activists call the charges excessive, and say they amount to an unfair tax on inmates' family and friends -- many of whom are poor. State officials defend the system as a reasonable way of reducing the burden on taxpayers of supporting the state's seven thousand prisoners. Minnesota Public Radio's Jae Bryson reports.
January 22, 2001 - The number of Muslim cabdrivers serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has grown rapidly in recent years. Muslims .... mostly from Somalia.....now make up 70 percent of the airport's 800 drivers. Some drivers say the Metropolitan Airport Commission's refusal to accomodate their special needs amounts to religious discrimination. Minnesota Public Radio's Jae Bryson reports.
December 27, 2000 - MPR’s Jae Bryson reports on local Muslims arriving at St. Paul's RiverCentre for Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr. The prayers and feasts of Eid al-Fitr mark the end of Ramadan, the month-long period of fasting and material deprivation. Organizers say the event, one of two Muslim High Holy Days, attracted more than 10,000 people.
December 22, 2000 - For the second time in two years a new Bishop has been appointed to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Reverend Monsignor Richard Pates joins Bishop Frederick Campbell as an auxiliary bishop for one of the fastest growing dioceses in the nation. Minnesota Public Radio's Jae Bryson reports.
October 20, 2000 - A full work-week after the Minnesota Department of Transportation turned off its ramp meters, in a study to determine traffic flow, drivers are still forming their opinions of the experiment. Minnesota Public Radio reporter Jae Bryson spoke this morning with commuters in Minneapolis and St. Paul.