January 3, 1998 - A Minnesota lawmaker is flying to North Carolina on Sunday to take a closer look at what may be the future home of the Minnesota Twins. A North Carolina businessman is negotiating to buy the team... but State Representative Kevin Knight of Bloomington says he thinks the deal is a ploy to force the Minnesota Legislature to pay for a new baseball stadium. Knight told Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste that the trip to North Carolina will help him prepare for the NEXT stadium fight, when the Minnesota Legislature meets later this month.
January 2, 1998 - Minnesota's new Criminal Gang Strike Force has been in business for two months now, with 40 full-time agents dedicated to tracking the activities of the Twin Cities' suspected criminal gangs. That effort is now going statewide, as the Strike Force gets ready to set up regional bureaus in cities like Duluth and Moorhead. Politicians say the anti-gang effort is long overdue in Minnesota's small towns and rural areas, but some local law enforcement experts say they're not so sure outstate Minnesota requires a big-city-style anti-gang offensive.
November 14, 1997 - MPR’s Martin Kaste reports that in the aftermath of the Minnesota lawmakers' vote to defeat the Twins stadium bill (voting 84 to 47 against the package), Governor Arne Carlson has offered a eulogy of sorts, seeing it as the "last, best hope" to keep the baseball team in Minnesota.
October 28, 1997 - Midday offers live two-hour coverage of the legislative Special Session with a debate on the Twins ballpark/stadium in the Minnesota Senate. Debate includes gambling as a funding source. MPR reporter Martin Kaste joins Gary Eichten to provide analysis as debate plays out.
October 3, 1997 - (NOTE: Check wires for possible movement on Don Beaver, Twins, etc. and updte lead as needed) There's nothing veiled about Carl Pohlad's threat to "export" the Twins to another state. For the past few months, Pohlad has made it very clear that he intends to sell the team to North Carolina-based businessman Don Beaver -- UNLESS state lawmakers come up with the money for a new baseball stadium. But how credible is the North Carolina half of Pohlad's ultimatum? Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste looked into the viability of major league baseabll in North Carolina and prepared this report: BACKANNOUNCE: Tune in Monday for the second part of Martin's report ... on the political fight brewing over pro sports in North Carolina. The issues will sound familiar to Minnesotans... and the Twins may be i
September 18, 1997 - Supporters of a state-financed Twins stadium went on the offensive today (Thurs).... Governor Carlson and Republican leaders had harsh words for the legislature's DFL leaders, whom they accuse of being overly negative about possible stadium financing deals. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports: The Republicans are attacking Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe and House Speaker Phil Carruthers because the two oppose a plan to pay for the new stadium with slot machines at the Canterbury Park race track. Their opposition to the Canterbury plan is not new, but Republicans such as Senator Dick Day say they're tired of what they see as "obstructionism" from the DFLers: ((I've went eight months with this thing -- eight months, and
September 18, 1997 - The announcement of a late October special legislative session on a new Twins stadium puts pressure on the members of a special stadium task force, which is trying to come up with a politically-acceptable financing package to present to the Legislature. But the real time crunch may be on the Twins. As Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, many legislators say they may vote against the package because they don't believe the Twins will leave if they don't get the stadium. Senator Keith Langseth, co-chairman of the stadium task force, says a bid from Charlotte would help sway his colleagues: Langseth: ((If that is the case and it's very documente
September 17, 1997 - MPR’s Martin Kaste reports on a persistent rumor suggesting North Carolina-based NationsBank might be interested in buying the Minnesota Twins and moving team to Charlotte. Kaste looks at how it could impact legislative action at the Minnesota Capitol regarding a stadium bill.
September 4, 1997 - MPR's Martin Kaste reports that Minnesota Indian tribes are reacting skeptically to suggestions they use their casino revenues to help pay for a new Twins stadium. The co-chairman of the Legislature's special stadium finance task force met with the chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in an attempt to get Indian money for a possible stadium financing package... but at least one Indian official in St. Paul says state politicians are "crazy" to think they can convince tribes to pay for the stadium when Minnesota taxpayers won't.
August 18, 1997 - The ELCA's failure to approve a closer relationship with the Episcopal Church comes as no surprise to the 820,000 ELCA Lutherans in Minnesota. In fact, as Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste reports, many Minnesota Lutherans wonder why the proposed "concordat" with Episcopalians got as far as it did.