November 29, 2004 - Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio reports that formal charges may come for the St. Paul man accused of killing six hunters and wounding two others in Wisconsin. In Milwaukee, Chai Vang's defense lawyers talked about their hope for a fair trial in Wisconsin's Northwoods. They also brought forward Vang's eldest daughter to talk about her father.
November 8, 2004 - It was a busy weekend for Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Yesterday, the governor ran the New York City Marathon and finished in less than four hours. On Saturday, he shot a four-point buck during the Governor's deer hunting opener near Grand Rapids. Pawlenty established a governor's hunting opener last year, but this was the first time he actually took a shot at a deer. Twin Cities writer Dennis Cass, who had never been hunting before, was in Grand Rapids gathering material for a story that will appear in a future edition of the Minnesota Monthly. He joins us now. That is writer Dennis Cass. His story about deer hunting will be featured in a future edition of the Minnesota Monthly magazine.
October 14, 2004 - Now the waiting begins for Pete Hautman, a local author of a book that's been nominated for a National Book Award. It's called "Godless" and was nominated in the category for young adult literature. The nominees were announced yesterday at the Fitzgerald theater in St. Paul and the winners of will be announced in November in New York. Joining us on the line is author Pete Hautman.
September 1, 2004 - Governor Tim Pawlenty has asked the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to make it easier for police officers to ask about a person's immigration status. The governor made his request in a letter to the city councils of the two cities. Both have ordinances that generally bar police from asking about immigrant status unless it relates to illegal activity. Pawlenty says he's concerned about homeland security.
February 11, 2004 - Governor Pawlenty has plans for another full day in Baghdad today for the second part of his two-day trip to Iraq. Pawlenty is one of six American governors picked by the Defense Department for a surprise visit to the country... the first visit by governors since the occupation began in April. Pawlenty says the group wants to visit troops stationed in Iraq and learn more about the U.S. mission. Joining us now for a political perspective on the trip is Steven Schier, political science professor at Carleton College in Northfield.
February 10, 2004 - Governor Tim Pawlenty is in Baghdad, Iraq today... at the invitation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Pawlenty's office says he is traveling with a group of governors from both political parties. He started his trip on Sunday... with a briefing at the Pentagon. Joining us on the line is Leslie Kupchella. That is Leslie Kupchella, a spokesperson for Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty is making the trip to Iraq along with the governors of Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, New York and Oregon. Before leaving for Iraq, the governors toured the memorial at the Pentagon dedicated to the victims of September 11th.
January 15, 2004 - Gov. Tim Pawlenty will propose a 760 million dollar bonding bill in the upcoming legislative session. Pawlenty announced the last of his bonding proposals yesterday (WEDNESDAY). The overall price was higher than what some of his former House Republican colleagues expected. But Pawlenty said he was aiming for a number between what the GOP-led House and the DFL-controlled Senate would propose. The bill focuses on a variety of areas, including construction at colleges and universities, state prison expansion and environmental projects. DFL Senator Keith Langseth is the bonding committee chair in the Senate That is DFLer Keith Langseth, who the is the bonding committee chair in the Minnesota Senate.
December 30, 2003 - U.S. Agriculture officials say a holstein infected with mad cow disease was born four months before the U.S. and Canada began banning certain animal parts from cattle feed. Records from the Washington dairy farm where the cow last lived confirm that the animal was born in Canada before the restrictions took effect. Since the news of the infected cow was released last week, federal officials have recalled 10-thousand pounds of beef. While it's still not clear how consumers will react to the scare, some promoters of organic foods say there's a good alternative. Organic Valley is a Wisconsin-based, farmer-owned cooperative that produces a variety of organic products, including organic meat. Michael Levine is the president of The Organic Meat Company of Organic Valley, and he joins us now.
December 29, 2003 - The Minnesota Vikings have made history. They are first NFL team in 25 years to start a season 6 and 0 and not make the playoffs. The Vikings season ended yesterday when the Arizona Cardinals scored a touchdown as time expired and beat Minnesota 18 to 17. That loss, coupled with Green Bay's 31 to 3 victory over Denver, put the Packers into the playoffs. Joining us now to sort through the ashes is Sean Jensen, who covers the Vikings for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
December 29, 2003 - Chris Farrell, Minnesota Publuc Radio's Chief Economics Correspondent and the co-host of Sound Money, talks about the year from a market and economic viewpoint. In general, it appears it was not a bad year at all, with both the Dow Jones and NASDAQ up as 2003 comes to a close.