December 9, 2002 - At noon today on our Midday program, we'll air a new historical documentary, "Powerline Blues." It's the story of a mass movement of farmers who tried to stop a high voltage transmission line in west central Minnesota in the late 1970's. The struggle caught the attention of a young Carleton College professor named Paul Wellstone. He later co-authored a book about it, Powerline: The First Battle of America's Energy War. In this report, Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure looks at how the protest helped shape the man who went on to the US Senate as a champion for the little guy against the power structure. Listen today at for the new documentary "Powerline Blues" -- It will air at 12 noon on MPR's midday program.
December 9, 2002 - On the prairies of southwest Minnesota, hundreds of wind turbines generate so much electricity that the state's largest utility, Xcel Energy, plans to build over a hundred miles of new transmission lines to bring power east to the Twin Cities. If the project is approved, it will be the biggest one built in Minnesota since a nationwide boom in transmission line construction ended twenty years ago. Some in the industry say now we need to build the next wave of transmission lines. But in Minnesota, many people remember a time when a powerline project went wrong. In the late 1970's, a mass protest swept through the normally conservative farm country of west central Minnesota. Farmers tried to stop construction of a 400 mile long transmission line that would cross their land on the way from North Dakota to the Twin Cities. In this special report, "Powerline Blues," MPR reporter Mary Losure looks back the conflict through the eyes of people who lived it. It's a story of how a system they didn't think was fair turned ordinary people into radicals.
November 20, 2002 -
November 12, 2002 - When the new Congress returns to Washington in January, members are expected to resume work on energy legislation that would be a giant boost for the corn-based fuel, ethanol. The energy bill would more than double the nation's use of ethanol over the next ten years. Ethanol supporters, such the nation's corn farmers, say it's a way to reduce this country's dependence on foreign oil and benefit the environment at the same time. Ethanol opponents doubt those arguments, but they're fighting a losing battle. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure has the latest in our occasional series on ethanol.
October 30, 2002 - Of the thousands of people who attended last's night's memorial service for Senator Paul Wellstone, many knew him only from reading about him or seeing him on television. But many others had met Paul Wellstone personally, and almost everyone had a story to tell . Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure talked to people in the crowd, and filed this report.
September 9, 2002 - MPR’s Mary Losure speaks with local Somali residents about their experience in the cities after 9/11. They speak on fear of Minnesotans retaliating toward them based on their Muslim religion, experiences of racism, how immigration interviews were canceled and not rescheduled, and how money wiring services were shut down.
August 21, 2002 - Farmers own nearly half the nation's ethanol plants. The plants boost corn prices by creating demand for corn. And by owning their own plants, farmers hope they can capture some of the profits traditionally reaped by commodity processing giants such as Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland. But now, just as the ethanol industry seems poised for a boom, the farmers who own Minnesota's oldest and largest ethanol plant are thinking of getting out. Stockholders in Marshall, Minnesota -based Minnesota Corn Processors are expected to vote next month on whether to sell their company to Archer Daniels Midland, the nation's largest ethanol producer. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
May 2, 2002 - Riverside plant in Minneapolis opened in 1911 and the High Bridge plant in Saint Paul opened in 1924. The conversion of the two plants from coal to natural gas will eliminate four harmful pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogren oxides, particular matter, and mercury.
April 22, 2002 - For home gardeners, spring planting is just a few weeks away. But if you're planning to add fertilizer to the soil, reading the product's label won't always tell you whether it's safe. In most states, including Minnesota, manufacturers can sell fertilizer containing arsenic, lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals without disclosing those ingredients. In Minnesota, that means a product called Ironite is still on the market, despite high levels of contamination. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.
April 16, 2002 - A new study shows that very low doses of a corn herbicide widely used in Minnesota and across the world causes sexual abnormalities in frogs. The study says the weed killer atrazine may be one cause of the worldwide decline of amphibians. It was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Minnesota Public Radio's Mary Losure reports.