February 19, 2002 - Four Israelis were shot and killed and one was wounded in a Palestinian attack in the West Bank today. The attack followed stepped up reprisals by Israel for Palestinian attacks that have killed nine Israelis in six days. Eight Palestinians, were killed earlier today in Israeli airstrikes. National Public Radio's Linda Gradstein has been the Israel correspondent since 1990. She's in the Twin Cities tonight to speak about Israeli and Palestinian relations. Gradstein says covering the Mideast is extremely challenging.
February 19, 2002 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews co-author Paul Larson about "Cap Wigington: An Architectural Legacy in Ice and Stone," a Minnesota Historical Society publication. In interview, Larson highlights accomplishments of the noted African American architect.
February 18, 2002 - Government researchers say tests using diluted smallpox vaccine were "very successful." In a study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 650 volunteers were given varying doses of the 1970's era vaccine. Researchers say participants displayed an imune response even though some of the doses had been diluted as much as 10-fold. Currently there are only 15 million doses of smallpox vaccine on hand in the U.S., and it could take up to a year to get the 288 million new doses the government has ordered from a British company. Michael Osterholm is the Director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. He's also an advisor to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. Osterholm says even though the U.S. vaccine stockpile is at least 30 years old, it's very potent.
February 6, 2002 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson interviews Chinese American composer and conductor Tan Dun. He is in the Twin Cities to conduct The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in two performances of the Crouching Tiger Concerto.
January 10, 2002 - Lisa Poseley grew up in Minnesota but has lived and worked as a freelance graphic artist in New York for the last four years. Her apartment is 12 blocks north of the World Trade Center site. She was making coffee in her kitchen on the morning of September 11th when she heard the first plane fly low over head and then crash into the first tower. A week later, Poseley showed up at a salvation army center near her apartment and asked what she could do to help. They sent her to Ground Zero and she has been volunteering there ever since. Poseley has taken hundreds of photos and kept a journal of the experience. I asked her to read her journal entry from September 13th.
January 8, 2002 - Nearly four months after the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Gordy Aamoth's Minnesota family members are struggling through the most difficult time of their lives. The 32-year-old Aamoth is missing and presumed dead. He is one (...as are several thousand others) of the thousands who died (were) in the twin towers that day yet to be identified. Aamoth grew up in Wayzata and was a prominent athlete at the Blake School in Minneapolis. In the early 1990s he moved to New York to pursue his dream job. By age 32, he was a vice president at the investment banking firm Sandler, O'Neill & Partners Investments which had an office on the 104th floor of Tower Two. Erik Aamoth says his brother Gordy had closed his first major investment deal two days before the attacks.
January 8, 2002 - In 1995 Bud Selig and a company controlled by Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad arranged for a three (M) million dollar loan to the Milwaukee Brewers. At the time Selig was president and chief executive officer of the Brewers, as well as baseball's acting commissioner. Three former baseball commissioners say the deal may be a violation of baseball rules. Selig's lawyer says there was nothing improper about the loan. Selig is behind the plan to contract two teams before next season, most likely the Twins and Montreal Expos. Pohlad could receive more in a contraction buyout than he would if he sold the franchise. Baseball author and analyst Gary Gillette says the deal represents a major lapse of judgement:
January 8, 2002 - Today's warm weather is one for the record books with highs reaching the upper 30s to the upper 50s across much of the state. University of Minnesota Climatologist Mark Seeley says many records were broken.
January 3, 2002 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews political analyst Chris Gilbert about Ventura’s upcoming State of the State speech. In a break from the tradition of giving the speech to a live audience, Ventura has decided instead to speak from his official residence. He is not expected to take questions afterward. Gilbert says tonight's fireside chat format suits Ventura.
January 1, 2002 - With snow on the ground and freezing temperatures, the Minnesota State Fair seems like a distant memory. Nonetheless, this Friday the Great Minnesota Get Together will be featured on the national PBS series "Life 360." The segment was produced by Peggy Orenstein and her filmmaker husband, Steven Okazaki. Orenstein openly admits she's a huge state fair junkie. The native Minnesotan, who lives in California now, says she has always wanted to share her love of the fair with people around the country. Orenstein says she found the perfect excuse to document last summer's fair.