July 30, 2003 - Many laws passed by the Minnesota Legislature this past session will take effect on Friday, including one that lawmakers hope will reduce the number of medical errors. The law creates a statewide reporting system for medical mistakes. It gives the Minnesota Department of Health authority to collect information and create a database of the errors. DFL Senator Steve Kelley sponsored the bill in the Senate, and he's on the line now. That is DFL Senator Steve Kelley.
July 29, 2003 - Minneapolis schools Superintendent Carol Johnson is reportedly a finalist for the job as head of the public schools in Memphis, Tennessee. The Commercial Appeal newspaper reports the city school board has named Johnson as one of three finalists for the superintendent's job. The board could decide as early as today. Sharon Henry Blythe is the chair of the Minneapolis School Board.
July 29, 2003 - For the first time ever.... a Minnesotan will lead the College Republican National Committee. Eric Hoplin was elected to the position in Washington, D.C.... a long way from his roots in Detroit Lakes. Hoplin attended college at St. Olaf... where he spent 2 years as chair of the STATE College Republicans. The national organization has a rich history. Many leading political figures of today... like presidential advisor Karl Rove... got their start with the organization. Joining us on the line is chairman Eric Hoplin. That is Eric Hoplin, the first Minnesotan to become chair of the College Republican National Committee.
July 29, 2003 -
July 28, 2003 - Optimism abounds at training camp for the Minnesota Vikings. The team is coming off a 6-and-10 season last year... but won its last 3 games. In the off-season... the team signed quarterback Daunte Culpepper to a 100 million dollar contract... and added a number of players through free agency and the NFL draft. The buzz in Mankato... where training camp is in full swing... is that the Vikings are in position to get back into the playoffs. Joining us on the line is Sean Jensen who covers the team for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. That is Sean Jensen who covers the Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
July 28, 2003 - Bishops, clergy, and laity of the Episcopal Church will gather later this week in Minneapolis for a national convention, and they're expected to make some controversial decisions. The largest issue facing the church is whether to ratify the election of the church's first openly gay bishop... the Reverend Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Some Episcopalian bishops are warning that confirming Robinson could cause deep division in the church. Reverend Dr. Sandy Wilson is the rector of the Historic Downtown Episcopal Church of Gethsemane in Minneapolis. She's on the line now. That is Rev. Dr. Sandye Wilson, the pastor of Historic Downtown Episcopal Church of Gethsemane in downtown Minneapolis. She will participate in the Episcopal USA Convention which starts on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
July 23, 2003 - The trendy "flash mob" phenomenon has arrived in the Twin Cities. "Flash mobs," a sort of performance art in which a group of people organized over the Internet mysteriously gather in a public place, do something strange and then quickly disperse, have been occuring lately in New York and San Francisco. Last night, a flash mob was created at the Mall of America in Bloomington. The details of a flash mob activity are kept secret until just before the event begins. Luckily Minnesota Public Radio's Nikki Tundel (tun DELL) was tipped off to last night's gathering and went out to the Mall of American to check it out. That is MPR's Nikki Tundel (tun DELL).
July 23, 2003 - The University of Minnesota's solar car... the Borealis Two... has one last chance today to catch the leader in the last leg of the American Solar Challenge. It's a race from Chicago to Claremont, California... and the U of M team is 5 hours behind a team from the University of Missouri at Rolla (RAH-la). The cars in the race must be powered soley by the sun. Joining us on the line as he prepares for the last day of the race is Travis Lee... the Borealis Two team leader who's in Barstow (BAR-stow), California.... 90 miles away from the finish line. That is Travis Lee... the Borealis Two team leader from the University of Minnesota.
July 18, 2003 - Minnesotans with ties to the Rondo community will gather in St. Paul this weekend to celebrate their heritage. It's the 20th anniversary of Rondo Days, a festival that honors the memory of a primarily African-American neighborhood torn apart by the construction of Interstate 94. In conjuction with the festival, a documentary will be shown about former Rondo resident Gordon Parks who became a world famous photograher, filmmaker, and composer. Parks was born in Fort Scott, Kansas in 1912. He moved to the Twin Cities as a teenager after his mother died.
July 18, 2003 -