March 23, 1999 - A St. Paul manufacturing plant is back on-line today after its chemical disposal tank in released noxious fumes yesterday. There were no serious injuries. But the leak forced the temporary evacuation of nearby homes and businesses and snarled rush-hour traffic near the intersection of Snelling Avenue and I-94.
March 22, 1999 - Around the Twin Cities metropolitan area, old lines are beginning to blur between previously separate telecommunications technologies. Within the near future, cable television, high-speed Internet access, and telephone service could all be provided in one package through one hook-up in each home. Already, St. Paul and many suburbs are close to completing that convergence. But a dispute between the City of Minneapolis and cable company Paragon has that city and its residents on hold while the rest of the region moves ahead.
March 12, 1999 - The University of Minnesota's men's basketball team was eliminated yesterday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Their season ended on a controversial note as four players -- including two starters -- were declared ineligible for the game after allegations of academic fraud surfaced earlier this week.
March 3, 1999 - Northfield residents have cleared the way for a Target store to locate just south of the city. In a special election yesterday, a slim majority approved an ordinance to allow large-scale retail operations along a portion of a highway commercial district.
March 1, 1999 - MPR’s Michael Khoo visits the Majestic Ballroom in Cottage Grove on the venue’s last night open. Khoo interviews ballroom dancer patrons as they kick up their heels one last time. For a quarter century, the Majestic has entertained the fancy footwork of those dancers with a taste for polkas, waltzes, and foxtrots.
February 26, 1999 - A new study on attitudes towards housing and development confirms what many planning officials have long suspected: Residents in the Twin Cities area prefer single-family homes on large lots away from town, rather than living in the city.
February 24, 1999 - The Dayton Hudson Corporation is facing a minor setback in its plans to build a new Target headquarters in downtown Minneapolis . Yesterday, the city's Zoning and Planning Committee recommended the city council rescind a 1997 zoning decision that had cleared the way for the development.
February 18, 1999 - It's been less than six weeks since the new 651 area code became mandatory for St. Paul and its surrounding suburbs. And already, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is considering another area code for the Twin Cities. Last night, the PUC held its first public hearing on the proposed changes.
February 5, 1999 - Sam Costa is an arts instructor in the Minneapolis public schools and a dance choreographer. When his students learned he'd been diagnosed with terminal cancer, they wanted to do something to assist him. Last night, they organized a benefit dinner for Costa and invited a special guest.
February 4, 1999 - A stabbing last weekend at the Mall of America and an unrelated gunshot incident only weeks before have led to increased scrutiny of security at the suburban shopping center.