October 5, 1999 - The University of Minnesota and the pharmaceutical company Glaxo Wellcome have reached a settlement over the AIDS virus drug Ziagen. The settlement requires Glaxo Wellcome to pay royalties for the patented drug developed at the University. Total royalties are expected to exceed 300 million dollars.
September 28, 1999 - Homicides are the leading cause of death for children in Hennepin County. That's according to a new report Hennepin County officials released today on injuries and deaths to children up to age 19. Thirty two percent of the deaths recorded between 1993 and 1997 were attributed to abuse or assault.
September 23, 1999 - An immigration court judge today ruled Rene Hurtado can stay in the US. Hurtado --who now goes by the name Rene Larin-- fled El Salvador in the 1980's claiming he feared persecution. However US Immigration officials said it was Hurtado who had committed attrocities.
September 21, 1999 - El Salvador made daily headlines in the 1980s during the country's bloody 12-year civil war, especially the government's 'death squads'. Today, one former member of the country's notorious Treasury Police, Rene Hurtado, begins a three day deportation hearing in Bloomington. Hurtado gained attention for speaking out --in Minnesota and nation-wide-- against US involvment in his country's civil war.
September 10, 1999 - Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year begins today at sundown. It's a time to look forward, and for looking back. The Jewish Community Center in St Louis Park is offering a chance to do a little of the latter, through an exhibit about life in Luboml --a small, predominately Jewish town in Poland before World War 2. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports the show is sponsored by a Twin Cities family which has a special interest in this slice of history.
September 1, 1999 - Over the past twenty years alternatives to nursing homes have sprung up across the nation including here in Minnesota. One is Rakhma Incorporated. Celebrating its 15th year this October, Rakhma has grown from one to three homes across the Twin Cities since 1984. Rakhma homes are places for people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease to live in a home setting, but not alone.
August 25, 1999 - Nation-wide in-patient treatment for eating disorders has become increasingly rare in the last decade. In Minnesota, for example, hospital stays for even the most severe cases of anorexia nervosa face coverage restrictions from health maintenance organizations. One effort is underway to find common ground between doctors and HMO's in treating anorexia nervosa, a psychiatric illness that kills one in ten of its sufferers.
August 19, 1999 - Everyday across the Twin Cities casino-operated buses collect people for gambling trips around the state. "Bingo" Barney's Fun Tours is one of Minnesota's oldest --independent-- gambling bus excursions. For the past twelve years, Barney's riders have found a kind of second family that shares a passion for gambling --especially the game bingo. Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman joined one trip to southwest Minnesota.
August 10, 1999 - One year ago environmental and Native American activists dug in their heels to fight the rerouting of Highway 55 in south Minneapolis . The protesters have survived a police raid and lost a campsite. Yet continue a 24 hour a day presence in the path of the highway's expansion --something Minnesota-DOT officials say is on track despite the protestors' actions to stop it.
July 15, 1999 - A new political poll shows Minnesotans would vote for Texas Governor George W. Bush over Vice-President Al Gore --if the Presidential election were held today. The results put Bush ahead of Gore among likely Minnesota voters, but they also have Gore running ahead of presidential hopeful Elizabeth Dole.