March 31, 2003 -
March 27, 2003 - As we try to understand what's happening in Iraq right now, one Minnesotan watches and listens with a unique perspective. John Hartnett is a veteran of the first Gulf War. He was a Military Police Platoon Commander with the Marines. His job was to round up prisoners on the battlefield and take them to POW compounds in Saudi Arabia. John Hartnett has written a book about his experiences. He says the job was sometimes very stressful.
March 14, 2003 - The cold spell earlier this month in historical perspective represented the third coldest ever March 1-10 in the modern state records. Only 1943 and 1960 were colder in early March. This exacerbated already thick lake ice and deeply frozen soils. Last week, we noted that the deep soil frost will take some time to thaw this spring. Similarly lake ice, now up to 50 inches thick in some places, will take a good long time to disappear as well, as it did in those other years with a cold March like 1943 and 1960. In addition, ice dams may be a problem on some Minnesota rivers.
March 14, 2003 -
March 13, 2003 - Hugh Parmer is the President of the American Refugee Committee, based in Minneapolis. ARC does not currently have any programs in the middle east area, but is in the early stages of setting one up. They're sending someone to Kuwait to do the initial scouting, and are partnering with the Iraqi Refugee Aid Committee (based in London). Hugh says aid organizations are really NOT PREPARED to handle this crisis. He says most organizations are in the early stages, just like they are. He can compare the situation to other refugee disasters (ie, Kosovo), where aid organizations were all set to help when the disaster happened. He says the humanitarian planning has been really uncoordinated this time. The US government hasn't sat down with nonprofit agencies as usual... it seems to be doing planning on its own, and depending on the military to handle the first wave of humanitarian disaster.
March 13, 2003 -
March 11, 2003 - Minnesota lawmakers will get their first look at proposed new academic standards today (TUESDAY). Education Commissioner Cheri Yecke will present a draft of the reading and math standards to both the House and Senate. The drafts could replace the Profile of Learning, which the Minnesota House has already voted to repeal. Mike Ricci (RICHIE) was on the citizen committee which developed the new reading standards. He's also executive director of the New Spirit Charter School in St. Paul. He's on the line with us now.
March 7, 2003 - To: Cathy Wurzer, Jim Bickal, Julie Siple, and Eugene Cha From: Mark Seeley Re: Suggestions for MPR's Morning Edition, Friday, March 7, 2003 Snowfalls of 2 to 3 inches on Monday of this week, ushered in some very cold air from Canada. On Sunday, Thompson in Manitoba, Canada had reported a low of -47 F, giving evidence for the type of arctic air to expect this week. Topic: Cold March Trivia
February 7, 2003 - The 3.8 inches of snow that fell on Groundhog Day Sunday, Feb 2 was the 3rd highest total historically for that date in the Twin Cities area. The 6.0 inch storm total snowfall, occurring over the 2nd and 3rd of the month was the second highest storm total historically, surpassed only by the 6.5 inches that fell in 1983. The Twin Cities now reports 8.0 inches of snowfall for February which is above normal.
January 31, 2003 - MPR's Morning Edition, Friday, Jan 31, 2003 Topic: Preliminary Climate Summary for January, 2003 January may be remembered for two characteristics: wild swings in temperature and the very belated appearance of winter snow