November 30, 1998 - The United States Supreme Court has declined to hear a dispute over where to store highly radioactive waste from the nation's nuclear power plants. Spent nuclear fuel is building up at power plants across the nation, including Nothern State's Power's Prairie Island nuclear plant. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. Utilities including NSP had hoped the case would force the Federal Department of Energy to meet a 1998 deadline to accept the spent nuclear fuel. The Supreme Court's decision lets stand a lower court ruling that said the DOE does not have to take the waste until the agency has a place to put it. The DOE's permanent storage site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada won't be ready un
November 20, 1998 - Minnesota's timber harvest has increased 60 percent since 1980, when the pulp and paper industry began multi-million dollar expansions at mills across northern Minnesota. Concerns over the stepped-up logging have long prompted calls for improved forestry practices to protect woodland plants and wildlife. The timber industry says there has been substantial progresswhich some say could be Minnesot
November 18, 1998 - As part of the Our State, Our Forests series, a Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from MPR studios in Duluth, highlighting the Minnesota Northwoods. In this hour, MPR’s Rachel Reabe presents stories by reporters Leif Enger and Mary Losure which portray the timber industry past and present and describe its impact on the environment and economy of Northern Minnesota.
November 5, 1998 - Although the cause of the split limbs, extra legs, missing eyes and other frog deformities reported from Minnesota and many other states is still unknown, evidence linking deformed frogs and farm chemicals continues to mount. Researchers will discuss those findings and others in San Diego this week at a conference sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. When researcher Martin Ouellet first began finding deformed frogs along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec in 1992, he suspected a link betw
November 5, 1998 - After electing Reform Party candidate and former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura as their governor, Minnesotans suddenly find themselves having to explain to the outside world what the front page of the New York Times calls an "earth rattling political upset". People from around the country and the world are calling relatives and friends in Minnesota, and asking how it happened, and why. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports. As the news of Jesse Ventura's victory spread, the David Letterman show ran wisecracks about a governor whose shorts glitter-
October 7, 1998 - The Yellowstone Bison herd has plenty of friends in the Twin Cities, if testimony at a hearing in Bloomington is any indication. A National Park Service hearing on the fate of the bison herd attracted the highest turnout of any of the 13 held around the country. The overwhelming majority spoke against the killing of bison.
October 2, 1998 - The corn and soybean feilds of southern Minnesota might seem an unlikely place for a a national gathering of anti-logging activists,but that's where a group called the Ruckus Society is holding its training camp. In a park outside the small town of Geneva, activists are learning techniques for timber road blockades and other so-called "direct action" tactics.
October 1, 1998 - The Federal Environmental Protection Agency has negotiated a 32 and a half million dollar settlement for environmental violations by Marathon Ashland Incorporated. The company operates refineries in Kentucky, Ohio, and St.Paul Park. THe Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says only a small portion of the fine is for violations at the St. Paul Park refinery.
September 29, 1998 - A proposal for a shorter, lower, and less intrusive bridge over the St. Croix River near Stillwater is getting a generally favorable reaction. Interest groups have been battling over how to solve one of the twin cities most difficult transportation problems: how to increase traffic over the river without destroying its scenic beauty. Many--but not all of the interest groups -- say they can live with a consultants recomendation unveiled on Monday.
September 24, 1998 - Neighborhood groups opposed to a plan to extend Ayd Mill Road in Saint Paul are pushing a plan of their own---they want to tear up the little-used highway and make it into a park.