May 3, 2001 - INTRO-- One of Minnesota's award-winning children's authors is out with a new book. Kate Dicamillo's (dee come ELLO) won the Newbery Honor for her first story, "Because of Winn-Dixie." Now she's written "The Tiger Rising," which follows a boy named Rob, his friend Sistine, and a live tiger Rob finds while walking through the Florida woods. Dicamillo says her main goal was to write a good story.
April 27, 2001 - MPR's Morning Edition, Friday, Apr 27, 2001 Topic Testing the gardener's patience The back to back to back Aprils of 1907, 1908, and 1909 really put Minnesota gardeners and farmers to the test.
April 27, 2001 - The Minnesota Senate has approved a higher education bill worth nearly three billion dollars. Most of the money would be split between the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. The bill includes an amendment designed to reduce the number of students who arrive at college unprepared to do coursework. Data released by the state's public colleges and universities shows nearly one-third of students from the class of 1999 had to take remedial classes in college. DFL Senator Tony Kinkel is behind the amendment.
April 20, 2001 - Earlier this week snow and cold temperatures returned to the state. Monday's snowfall was significant in some northern areas...Tower reported 8 inches, Ely reported 5 inches, LittleFork reported 6 inches, Babbitt reported 6 inches, and International Falls reported 6 inches...all of which were new record snowfall amounts for April 16th.
April 20, 2001 - If you're driving around Minnesota, you're likely to see a good number of old barns... some dating back to the late 1800s. Tomorrow the Minnesota Historical Society will present a workshop on fixing up old barns. Mary Humstone is the founder of Barn Again!, a national program designed to promote barn restoration. She says interest in restoring old barns is increasing, because fixing up a barn can be cheaper than building a new one... and because people feel a connection to these buildings.
April 18, 2001 - Minnesota's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to three-point-four percent in March. That's the highest it has been in four years. The Minnesota Department of Economic Security says the rate was up from three-point-two percent a month earlier. It is still below the national average. Tom Stinson is the Minnesota State Economist, and he's on the line now.
April 18, 2001 - New scores are out for the Minnesota Basic Skills math and reading tests. The Department of Children, Families, and Learning says eighth-graders did about the same as last year's class on the tests. 79 percent of eighth-graders passed the reading test on their first try, down from 80 percent last year. The rate of success on the math exam inched up one percentage point to 72 percent. Chuck Johansson is the Testing Project Coordinator for the CFL. He says if parents want to see their kids' tests, they have to contact the CFL.
April 17, 2001 - THE MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION HAS ANNOUNCED A NEW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM THAT GIVES MONEY TO STUDENTS WHO GRADUATE ON TIME FROM A HANDFUL OF SCHOOLS IN BOTH MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL. THE SEVEN SCHOOLS WERE CHOSEN BECAUSE THEY ARE STRUGGLING ACADEMICALLY AND HAVE A HIGH NUMBER OF POOR STUDENTS, AND THOSE WHO DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AS A FIRST LANGUAGE. A NEW BOOK BY A MINNEAPOLIS TEACHER GIVES US A GLIMPSE AT THE CHALLENGES AND REWARDS OF TEACHING A DIVERSE GROUP OF STUDENTS. JULIE LANDSMAN HAS BEEN TEACHING IN THE MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. HER BOOK, "A WHITE TEACHER TALKS ABOUT RACE" INTRODUCES READERS TO HER STUDENTS AND TO THE QUESTIONS OF RACIAL IDENTITY AND CULTURAL CONFLICT THAT COME UP IN HER CLASSROOM. LANDSMAN TALKED WITH MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO'S JULIE SIPLE. SHE SAYS IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE HER STUDENTS ARE COMING FROM.
April 11, 2001 - INTRO: Cuba is in the middle of an unprecedented experiment in organic agriculture. When the Soviet Union collapsed ten years ago, so did Cuba's economy, and before long the island nation faced a severe food shortage. Without enough money to import food, or the fuel and fertilizer to grow it, the Cuban government made a bold move --- embracing alternative agricultural methods including organic farming and natural pest control. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky traveled to Cuba with a group of Minnesota agriculture experts. In the last of her series of reports, she takes a look at the lessons Cuba may have for other nations.
April 10, 2001 - Farmers in the United States who grow food organically--- without using chemicals --- are in the minority. Not so in Cuba. In the past decade that island nation turned from growing food using chemicals, heavy machinery and huge farms....in favor of small-scale organic farming and urban gardens. Production of vegetables has soared....which has attracted attention from experts in the United States ... and Minnesota. In the second of a series of reports on Cuban agriculture, Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Stucky takes a look at one country's experience using organic farming methods to feed a nation.