January 24, 2001 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson talks with Duluth reporter Chris Julin, who details Governor Ventura’s Duluth visit to talk to citizens and students about the benefits of his budget. Topics included higher education, and the Iron Range economy.
January 24, 2001 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews John Brandl, dean of the Humphrey Institute, about his take on Governor Ventura's two year budget plan. It has been drawing mixed reaction from citizens and lawmakers. Many Democrats are concerned about Ventura's minimal spending increase, and some Republicans have echoed similar concerns. Brandl says Ventura's desire to hold the line on spending is flawed.
January 22, 2001 - Cell phones should only be used in emergencies. Casual or business conversations should be written up.
January 17, 2001 - The Minnesota Wild has a chance to even the score tonight in a rematch with the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Xcel Energy Center. On Monday, the Blue Jackets shut out the Wild, extending the team's losing streak to 3 games in a row. Despite recent problems, the Wild has a lot to celebrate halfway through its first season. The team has enjoyed a nine game unbeaten streak at home and goalie Manny Fernandez has had 3 shutouts. With Fernandez's help, the Wild has had brief moments where it looked more like a Stanley Cup contender than an expansion team. Fernandez comes to Minnesota from Canada, where he began playing hockey at age two. But he says an illness nearly forced him to scrap his budding career.
January 16, 2001 - Local baseball analyst Kevin Hennessy shares his thoughts about former Twins outfielders Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett, who both have been elected to baseball's Hall of Fame.
January 12, 2001 -
January 11, 2001 - It's the quintessential teenage fantasy -- join a rock band, become famous, make a lot of money. Throw in a tragic plane crash and a troup of witty European actors and you have the makings of experimental theater RIPE for the Walker Art Center's annual "Out There" festival. Tonight marks the North American debut for the English-German ensemble, called Gob Squad. Their name refers to a type of schooling fish-- Gob-- that cares for its ailing members. At least that's what the performers say, prefering to ignore the other meaning's of the word which are British slang for both mouth and spit. The Gob Squad's play "Safe", opening at the Southern Theater, has been touring Europe for the past two years. The troup's Simon Will and Sean Patten say "Safe" is part theater, part plane disaster and part rock concert.
January 10, 2001 - Stargazing just got a whole lot better at the University of Minnesota. Today the school received a $5 million gift from Hubbard Broadcasting that will allow it to buy time on the world's largest binocular telescope being built in Arizona. Chair of the Astronomy Department Leonard Kuhi (Kooee) says the telescope will have better resolution than the Hubble space telescope.
January 4, 2001 - Natural gas prices have hit a record high. The Minnesota Commerce Department says the cost of natural gas climbed 58-percent between December and January. The spike in prices has prompted many Minnesotans to seek help in paying their heating bills. Kim Rezek is with the Department of Economic Security's Energy Assistance Program. She says there's been a dramatic increase in the number of people applying for energy assistance.
January 3, 2001 - The Minnesota Wild hockey team is on a surprising tear. The Wild has a six-game unbeaten streak going into tonight's game against the Atlanta Thrashers at the Xcel Energy Center. Ross Bernstein is Editor of Minnesota Hockey Journal. He says even though a few of those games ended in ties, the Wild appear to be holding up well against some tough competitors.