June 26, 2003 -
June 26, 2003 - Tonight is a big night for a lot of young athletes who dream of playing professional basketball. It's the annual NBA draft and several Minnesotans are hoping their names will be called. Former Gophers Rick Rickert and Jerry Holman may get drafted. Troy Bell of Boston College, who played at Holy Angels High School in the Twin Cities, is also expecting to be chosen. Bell may get picked by the Minnesota Timberwolves who have a first round selection for the first time since 1999. Joining us on the line is Brit Robson, who writes about the Wolves and the NBA for City Pages. That is Brit Robson, who covers the Wolves for City Pages. The NBA draft begins tonight at 6:00.
June 26, 2003 - Residents are assessing the damage and cleaning up in Buffalo Lake. The small town in west central Minnesota was the hardest hit by a series of storms that struck the state Tuesday night. Many amateur radio operators were out looking for bad weather during those storms. The operators are part of Skywarn, a nonprofit organization made up of volunteers in the metro area who are trained to look for dangerous weather... and alert the National Weather Service when they see it. Bill Hughes is a Skywarn spotter and a spotter instructor. He's on the line now. Bill Hughes is a Skywarn spotter and a spotter instructor. To see pictures of Buffalo Lake after the tornado, visit our website at Minnesota Public Radio dot org.
June 25, 2003 - The St. Paul City Council is expected to open a hearing later today on moving bar closing times from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. The extra hour is a welcome development for downtown bars.... but some neighborhood residents are worried about the effects of changing the bar closing time. Joining us on the line is Dan Bostrom... president of the St. Paul city council. That is Dan Bostrom, president of the St. Paul City Council.
June 25, 2003 -
June 24, 2003 - Ramsey County is expected to vote today on banning handguns from county owned property. The vote is a response to the recent conceal-carry handgun law passed at the State Capitol. Ramsey county's plan would prohibit handguns from county buildings, libraries... beaches... and other facilities. Joining us on the line is the chair of the county Board of Commissioners, Jim McDonough (mick-DONE-uh). That is Jim McDonough, chair of the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners.
June 24, 2003 -
June 23, 2003 - Summer is peak time for alcohol-related deaths on Minnesota roads... and this year the Minnesota Department of Public Safety is targeting young blue collar workers with messages to get them to stop drinking and driving. An analysis of the numbers show blue collar people... construction workers.... mechanics... and truck drivers... are disproportionately involved in these accidents. The department has produced a video about the consequences of alcohol-related accidents, and hopes it gets through to these workers. Here's a part of the video... with a man who says he didn't think twice about driving under the influence. The Department of Public Safety wants employers and unions to get the video, and show it to their workers. Joining us on the line to is Cathy Swanson... director of the Office of Traffic Safety.
June 18, 2003 -
June 18, 2003 - Later this week... president Bush is scheduled to visit the Twin Cities to highlight the importance of recent tax cuts.... and many of his Democratic presidential rivals will be in St. Paul to deliver remarks to a meeting of top Democratic officials from all across the country. But sandwiched in between these two events... Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge will visit a symposium on domestic security issues. The Department of Homeland Security is in the midst of distributing more than 4 billion dollars to the states. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is distributing the money that's sent here to local governments. Public Safety Commissioner Rich Stanek joins us on the line this morning. That is Public Safety Commissioner Rich Stanek.