September 24, 2003 - Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty leads a trade delegation to Montreal this weekend. The trade mission is focused on biotechnology, as the governor tries to promote Minnesota as a place for biotech companies. Pawlenty and other biotech boosters say Minnesota is well poised to compete in the rush for biotech business. Skeptics say the state doesn't have the resources to become a major biotech player. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports.
September 23, 2003 - Minnesota will receive a nearly $60-million federal education grant over the next six years for reading programs. Governor Pawlenty says the money will go toward a new reading initiative designed to ensure all Minnesota children can read by the end of first grade. One DFL lawmaker says that's a laudable goal, but tough to achieve when school districts are cutting teachers as a result of budget cuts. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
September 5, 2003 - Governor Pawlenty said today FRIDAY the state will seek a federal disaster declaration because of drought conditions. He says it appears about 50 of the state's 87 counties qualify for disaster assistance because of the late-summer drought. Some House Democrats say the governor should also start putting together a state disaster relief package. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports...
August 12, 2003 - The Republican landslide in November's election left Democrats with little leverage at the state Capitol. Only the Senate remained in DFL control, and by the slimmest DFL margin since the state began partisan elections in the early 70s. The result was predictable -- although they managed to blunt the impact of some of the proposed Republican budget cuts, no major DFL initiatives succeeded in the last session. In part four of our Right Turn series, Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum looks at the challenges facing DFL leadership in the Legislature.
August 11, 2003 - The growth of Minnesota's suburbs became apparent in last year's elections. The redistricting that occurs every ten years to account for population shifts added 12 legislative seats to suburbs in the seven-county metropolitan area. Last November, all but one of those new seats went Republican. But analysts say suburban voters are volatile, and they may not vote Republican in 2004. In the second part of our Right Turn series, Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum looks at the growing political clout of the suburbs...
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