July 27, 2000 - Many business leaders and local officials are back home today after the conclusion of the third annual rural summit in Rochester. The summit was designed to explore new techniques for revitalizing rural economies. Discussion topics included tourism, technology, and business development. Jerry Carlson is the Commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development, and was instrumental in putting the summit together, and joins MPR News on the phone.
July 26, 2000 - The University of Minnesota has joined with three other research institutions to work on animal genetics research. One of the university's partners will be the Roslin Institute in Scotland, which is known for producing Dolly, the lamb cloned from the tissue of an adult sheep. The group has agreed to transfer the commercial rights of their discoveries to a private company called AniGenics, Inc. AniGenics will pay licensing fees to the institutions, and researchers will still be able to use their work for further studies. Sue Petto is a senior licensing associate with Patents and Technology Marketing at the University of Minnesota.
July 25, 2000 - Bill Babcock talks about what the media's role should be in covering something like the animal genetics conference, and the protests that could accompany it.
July 25, 2000 - Does a new casino help or hurt a community? Last night, supporters and opponents of a casino proposed for Hudson, Wisconsin argued both sides at a hearing on the possible environmental effects of the project. Three Wisconsin Chippwea bands and the Florida owner of a dog track in Hudson are pushing for the off-reservation casino. They say it would allow the bands, which are all located some distance from the Twin Cities, access to metro area gamblers, and draw more customers to the struggling track. Their proposal was rejected by the Department of the Interior in 1995, but now the department is reconsidering. Opposition to the project comes from Minnesota tribes with casinos who worry about the competition, and the Concerned Citizens of Hudson, who worry about negative effects on their community. Nancy Bieragle, member of the Concerned Citizens of Hudson, discusses the issue.
July 25, 2000 - Mark Goff, a spokesman for a group that supports the casino, speaks with MPR News. .
July 24, 2000 - Minnesota Public Radio's Chief Economics Correspondent Chris Farrell has a look at the markets.
July 21, 2000 - MPR’s Perry Finelli interviews Mark Ritchie, president of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, about concerns in the rapid advancements in biotechnology. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis.
July 21, 2000 - The Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco has issued its first grants to fight the tobacco industry. The money comes from the state's 1998 tobacco settlement. Of the $2.3 million dollars in grants, over half will go to community projects to eliminate secondhand smoke. The Minnesota Smoke-Free Coalition received one of those grants. Jeremy Hanson will oversee the organization's efforts, and he joins MPR News to discuss the issue.
July 19, 2000 - Minneapolis police plan to screen pedestrians on the south end of Nicollet Mall while a controversial animal genetics conference is in town. The six-day conference will begin on Friday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Inspector Sharon Lubinski of the Minneapolis Police Department is Head of the Downtown Command, and she's on the line now.
July 19, 2000 - Chuck Samuelson is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union. He says it is wrong to stop pedestrians without reason.