August 16, 2000 - Natural gas prices are on the rise, and some Minnesotans are already getting bigger bills. Customers on Minnegasco's budget plan are seeing increased rates this month. The budget plan lets people spread winter heating costs throughout the year. Minnegasco officials say that on average, budget plan customers can expect to pay about twenty dollars more a month than last year. Linda Taylor is an assistant commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Commerce and is in charge of the Energy Division. She joins us now.
August 16, 2000 - While coverage of the Democratic National Convention focuses on the nightly speeches, as much if not more of the action is occurring off-stage. Last night , Minnesota delegates attended a private reception at the Santa Monica Beach Club -- just one of dozens of sideshows to the prime time events. And as Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports, some observers are concerned the sponsors of the extra-curricular activities are buying influence.
August 15, 2000 - Today (TUESDAY) is the deadline for Minnesota school districts to report to the state about how they'll change the Profile of Learning in their schools. The profile is the show-what-you-know system that requires students to complete 24 projects to graduate. At the end of last session, the state legislature gave districts the power to temporarily reduce the number of standards students are required to complete. The Department of Children, Families, and Learning will produce a report of each district's plan at the end of the month. Jessie Montano (mon-TAHN-yoh) is Assistant Commissioner for Teaching and Learning. She's on the line now.
August 14, 2000 -
August 14, 2000 -
August 10, 2000 - Sun Country airlines is out with a new incentives program, called Smile Awards. It's designed to compete with the frequent flier programs offered by many major airlines. The program allows customers to stack up points for free flights by using a credit card. George Wazniak is the President of Hobbit Travel in Minneapolis. His agency books about twenty percent of Sun Country's seats, and he joins us now.
August 10, 2000 -
August 10, 2000 -
August 10, 2000 - Families affected by the scoring errors on thousands of basic skills tests will get a chance to learn all about class-action lawsuits in a seminar to be held later today. Minneapolis lawyer Michael Fay has taken out ads in local newspapers to have those families call his firm, and come to the seminar to ask questions about their legal rights. National Computer Systems revealed almost 2 weeks ago that it made scoring errors in the state's basic skills tests in math. About 8000 students were told they failed the test, when they actually passed. Joining us on the line now is Michael Fay.
August 9, 2000 - When University of Minnesota Meteorologist and Climatologist Mark Seeley isn't in our studios talking about the weather, he's off doing research. And in the course of that research he's discovered that Minnesota has become more humid over the last half century. Seeley says he discovered the trend by examining hourly reports of the dew point. University of Minnesota Meteorologist and Climatologist Mark Seeley.