April 8, 1997 - A Minnesota researcher is raising eyebrows in education circles... with a new study that says poverty does not cause children to do poorly in school. Economist Samuel Myers is director of the Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice at the University of Minnesota. He analyzed test results in hopes of explaining why minority students do poorly compared with white kids. His conclusion runs counter to what many educators have long assumed. Minnesota Public Radio's John Biewen reports. Samuel Myers says he was frustrated with the widespread assumption that poverty causes the poor academic performance of many minority children. 50-thousand eighth graders took the Minnesota Basic Standards Test last year. Bla
March 22, 1997 - The Minnesota Gophers men's basketball team has earned a berth in the NCAA Final Four. The number-one seeded Gophers won the Midwest region final yesterday with an 80-to-72 come-from-behind victory over UCLA. Minnesota Public Radio's Bill Wareham was in San Antonio for the game and has this report.
March 22, 1997 - More than fifteen thousand Gophers Basketball fans jammed Williams Arena last night... for a welcome-home rally... when the team returned to Minneapolis from San Antonio.
February 11, 1997 - As of last month, the U.S. government no longer views drug addiction or alcoholism as disabilities for purposes of government assistance. Congress passed a law last year that cut off disability benefits for more than 200,000 chemically dependent people. The payments came under attack after reports that some recipients used government checks to buy drugs and alcohol. But some social service workers say ending the disability payments will make many former recipients homeless. Minnesota Public Radio's John Biewen reports.
January 14, 1997 - As part of a series on poverty, MPR’s John Biewen looks at the "rent-to-own" industry and issues regarding interest rates.
January 14, 1997 - Advocates for the poor say one reason for the persistence of poverty is that low-income people often pay more for basic goods and services than middle-class people do... making the poor feel they're running in place. In a series this week, Minnesota Public Radio is examining the high cost of poverty. Economists say a growing number of low-income people who need small loans... are turning to pawnshops... instead of banks and credit cards. The Minnesota legislature passed regulations last year designed to control interest rates... so pawn customers wouldn't have to pay ten or fifteen times the rates charged for credit card loans. But some of the state's pawnshops are using a loophole in the law to charge more than 200-percent. In part two of our series, Minnesota Public Radio's John Biewen reports.
January 13, 1997 - As part of a series on poverty, MPR’s John Biewen reports that while the Minnesota legislature passed regulations in 1996 designed to control interest rates so pawn customers wouldn't have to pay ten or fifteen times the rates charged for credit card loans, some of the state's pawnshops are using a loophole in the law to charge more than 200%.
January 13, 1997 - As part of a series on poverty, MPR’s John Biewen looks at the growth of so-called 'fringe banks'…pawnbrokers and check-cashing shops. A growing number of low-income Americans are relying on 'fringe banks' in place of traditional banking services.
December 30, 1996 - Changes in federal law that take effect January first make it illegal to delay or deny an adoption based on race. Those who lobbied for the change say it will help speed the process of finding permanent homes for black children... by allowing white families to adopt them more easily. Critics say removing race as a factor in adoption is naive and misguided.
September 3, 1996 - The Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments today over the fate of convicted sex offender Dennis Linehan. Linehan is challenging his indefinite commitment to a state hospital under Minnesota's Sexually Dangerous Persons law.