March 26, 1999 - The White Earth Indian Reservation in northwestern Minnesota has long been plagued by high crime. Increased gang activity, violence and problems related to drug and alcohol abuse have frighted and frustrated tribal members. But reservation officials say a million dollar federal grant and a historic agreement with Mahnomen County has allowed the tribe, for the first time, to create its own police force.
March 15, 1999 - Full page newspaper ads and a television ad campaign are heralding a new Lyme disease vaccine across the region. Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of the tiny deer tick and, if left untreated, can cause cardiac, neurological and arthritic complications. But even though Minnesota and Wisconsin are listed among areas of the country with higher concentrations of Lyme disease victims, health officials in Minnesota say the risk is low, and most residents don't need the vaccine.
March 1, 1999 - Governor Jesse Ventura gives his first state-of-the-state address tomorrow, and many people in northern Minnesota will be interested in what he has to say. Residents there are generally optimistic about the state's job market and economy, but are concerned about how the Governor perceives the area of the state outside the Metro area.
February 9, 1999 - Just 30 years ago, there wasn't a single tribal college in the United States, and for many Native Americans, education was seen as a means of assimilation and submission, rather than growth and opportunity. Going to college meant leaving the reservation, foregoing tradition and, in a sense, becoming white. Now, there are 32 tribal colleges nationwide, and the number is growing by about three a year. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, the Leech Lake Reservation's tribal college is creating an educational renaissance for Indians in northern Minnesota.
January 29, 1999 - Even though Sunday's Superbowl game will be Viking-less , it will still be a special day for residents of International Falls. The town's favorite son, legendary football great Bronko Nagurski, will be named to sports commentator John Madden's All-Millenium Football Team. Nagurski played for the Chicago Bears in the 1930s and 40s and is considered one of the best to ever play the game. But as Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, Nagurski never forgot his small town roots.
January 25, 1999 - To close out the millennium, Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered presents a look back at Minnesota life in 1900 via a 12-part series, entitled “A Minnesota Century.” In this segment, a look back at the Battle of Sugar Point…a fight between the U.S. Government and Chippewa Tribe over timber.
January 13, 1999 - A national higher education faculty study released this week is calling for a redefinition of tenure and adding more accountability to sabbaticals. The yearlong study, conducted by a coalition of Washington-based higher education associations, was designed, in part, to address growing public concern about the efficiency, effectiveness and affordability of public higher education.
December 23, 1998 - Elk once roamed much of Minnesota, but unregulated hunting in the 1800s so reduced the elk population it's now limited to a handful in the northwestern part of the state. A herd of about 30 animals lives near the town of Grygla, a product of an elk reintroduction program in 1935. Since then, the herd has been the subject of controversy because of damage it has caused to local crops. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji, the Department of Natural Resources is seeking public comment on a draft management plan for how best to deal with Minnesota's elk.
December 22, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio's Tom Robertson reports on the people behind the balsam boughs in Minnesota.
December 14, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio’s Tom Robertson attends an early morning ritual in Bemidji, as locals of Swedish descent keep the Santa Lucia tradition alive with an annual celebration said to be one of the largest of its kind in the U.S.