November 25, 1998 - A group of Twin Cities high school students is launching an advertising campaign designed to convince kids not to smoke. Students from Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul hope their message will get through to young people since it's coming from their peers. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... A dozen or so students developed a poster in twelve different languages, a web site and a P-S-A for TV. In the video, children dressed in career clothes - a doctor, a construction worker, a dancer - are happily playing, until a pack of cigarettes crashes down in their midst... (nat - kids laughing, screech of cig pack, sound of heartbeat)
November 16, 1998 - Minnesota House Republicans met over the weekend for the first time since gaining the majority in this month's election. Caucus members selected Steve Sviggum (SWIG-um) of Kenyon as their candidate for House Speaker, and chose Tim Pawlenty (puh-LEN-tee) of Eagan as their new Majority Leader. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... It took twelve years, but Republicans finally regained control of the House, and they're celebrating... (cheering) At their first caucus meeting since the election, House
November 11, 1998 - Hundreds - perhaps thousands - of resumes are pouring into Jesse Ventura's transition office at the state Capitol. Republicans, Democrats, and independents are all hoping to be part of the Governor-elect's new administration. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... The tight entryway to Ventura's basement transition office is often crammed with job-seekers, well-wishers and reporters... (nat - phone ringing, crowd buzz) 28-year-old Tom Klawiter (CLAW-water) dropped off his resume...
November 9, 1998 - Jesse Ventura begins his first full week of directing the transition to his administration. Minnesota's Governor-elect got more national airtime yesterday, appearing on N-B-C's Meet the Press and FOX T-V's coverage of the Vikings game. Ventura will also grace the cover of Time Magazine, on newstands today - but only in Minnesota. The rest of the country will see retiring House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has stolen a bit of Ventura's thunder. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... Jesse Ventura appeared gubernatorial on NBC's Meet the Press, wearing a suit and tie and talking about taxes, education and politics. But probably no other politician in the country would respond like this to host Tim Russert's challenge...
November 6, 1998 - Just two days after Jesse Ventura's surprise victory, Democrats are taking the first step toward reshaping the party. House D-F-L'ers met last night to elect a new MINORITY leader for the first time in more than a decade. D-F-L'ers are already focusing on how they can regain control of the House in two years, after losing the majority in Tuesday's election. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... It took four ballots and a five-hour meeting that ran past midnight, but house D-F-L'ers finally chose Tom Pugh of South St. Paul to lead them for the next two years. The 49-year-old attorney was first elected to the House ten years ago, and says Democrats need to focus on suburban voters to try to regain the majority in the next election. Pugh says lawmakers can't
October 30, 1998 - An MPR Special, presenting various reports on the major issues in this year's Gubernatorial campaign: taxes, education, crime, housing and agriculture. Program includes interviews and speech excerpts.
October 2, 1998 - Throughout this election season, Minnesota Public Radio is examining campaign advertising by the state's gubernatorial candidates. Since the primary, the bulk of the ads have focused on agriculture, in an effort to capture the farm vote.
September 29, 1998 - A new Minnesota non-profit which will decide how to spend some of the state's tobacco settlement met for the first time today. The Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco will administer about 200-million dollars approved by the court for smoking cessation and research.
September 29, 1998 - Throughout this election season, polls have been heavily scrutinized and often criticized - sometimes by candidates who don't like the results. But do polls actually influence voting behavior? Polling experts say no - they say polls simply reflect voter sentiment at a particular point in time.
September 28, 1998 - More than one-hundred twenty Minnesota candidates have signed a so-called "Taxpayer Protection Pledge", promising to oppose any tax increase. The pledge is certain to be an issue in many races this year, and particularly the race for Governor - only one of the three major party candidates has signed it.