May 7, 1998 - Fishing enthusiast Chet Meyers answer listener questions about fishing techniques, in advance of fishing opener. Topics include fishing for specific species, fishing lines, new regulations, shore fishing, and weather indicators.
May 6, 1998 - St. Paul trial attorney Ron Rosenmbaum helps sort through the legal questions on whether the lawyers in the tobacco trial should settle the case, or let the jury decide. Rosenmbaum also answers listener questions. Program begins with MPR reporter Laura McCallum presenting latest from the federal courthouse.
May 5, 1998 - On the day of the North Carolina public vote on baseball subsidies, MPR sports analyst Howard Sinker discusses it and the future of the Minnesota Twins. Sinker also answers listener questions. Programs begins with report from MPR's Martin Kaste in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
April 22, 1998 - Today's the last day of a special legislative session at the state capitol -- at least, that's the hope of most House members. The Senate wrapped up its special session work and went home two days ago, but the House has been caught up in a three-day partisan squabble over a $12-million-dollar social programs bill. Minnesota Public Radio's Martin Kaste joins us from the capitol bureau.
April 21, 1998 - Yesterday, a Chicago jury ruled that two of the nation's most militant anti-abortion groups violated anti-racketeering laws by staging protests that used fear and violence to shut down two abortion clinics. Last weekend in the Twin Cities, protesters staged a violent demonstration in order to prevent a group of neo-Nazis from holding a press conference. The nature of political protests have changed over the past 30 years according to Jeffrey Broadbent, a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota. He says compared to the 1960's, today's protests are considered a more legitimate way of participating in democracy...but they also carry a greater potential for violence.
April 21, 1998 - The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources plans to set fire to Itasca State Park this week. The fire will burn about 35-hundred acres making it the largest controlled fire in the park's history. It's intended to clear the area of undergrowth and reduce the risk of wildfires in the future. Fire planes, helicopters and about 90 firefighters will monitor the burn. Jean Bergerson is with the Interagency Fire Center. She joins me now from Brainerd.
April 21, 1998 - The Minnesota Twins lost to the Oakland A's last night by a score of 3-2. It was their fifth loss in row. But off the field, the forces trying to keep the Twins from moving to another state won a victory. Ramsey County District Judge Margaret Marrinan ruled that Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey can proceed with his investigation of Major League Baseball. Humphrey is trying to prove whether or not the baseball owners have conspired to force cities to build new stadiums. The judge rejected the argument that the baseball owners do not have to answer Humphrey's questions because of the sport's federal anti-trust exemption. MPR Sports Commentator Jay Weiner has come by the studio to help us sort through the implications of this decision.
April 20, 1998 -
April 20, 1998 - Author Paul Gruchow is one the winners in this year's Minnesota Book Awards. Gruchow won the top honor, known as the Flanagan Prize, for his book of essays entitled "Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild." Twenty-one prizes were handed out Friday night. This is the second award that Gruchow has won. He joins us now by phone.
April 1, 1998 - In his new book Slaves in the Family Edward Ball tells a quintessentially American story. It begins in 1698 when Ball's ancestor, Elias Ball leftEngland for South Carolina to claim his inheiritance: a small rice plantation and twenty slaves. The author follows the story of the Ball family and the story of the Ball plantation slaves and their descendants. Ball started his research with records from his ancestor's plantation... and used them to track down the living kin of the slaves that worked the land. He told Minnesota Public Radio's Perry Finelli how the slave descendants reacted when he made contact with them.