April 2, 1997 - MPR’s Bob Potter interviews Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton about an arbitrator’s decision than former Minneapolis police officer Mike Sauro is to be reinstated, after being fired by the city for second time. Sayles Belton shares why she disagrees with the decision, her concerns over off-duty work by officers in businesses that serve alcohol, and need for officer training.
April 2, 1997 -
April 7, 1997 - Mainstreet Radio's Leif Enger reports on impending Indian spearfishing and netting in East Central Minnesota. The Mille Lacs and other Ojibwe bands will begin taking fish under the terms of a treaty signed in 1837. The treaty harvest has raised tensions, especially around Mille Lacs Lake, one of the state's most popular fisheries.
April 11, 1997 - MPR’s Bill Wareham reports on residents of the Phillips neighborhood in South Minneapolis packing City Council chambers morning to plead for more help combatting violence.
May 12, 1997 - Saint Cloud has become the first outstate Minnesota community to form a citizens review board to investigate complaints against the police department. The Saint Cloud chapter of the NAACP led the call for the board, but it's reserving judgment on whether the board can effectively police the police.
June 19, 1997 - The Minneapolis city council is considering changes to the civilian board that reviews complaints against police officers. Some councilmembers want to merge the Civilian Police Review Authority with another city department, a move supporters say could save a third off the agency's $460-thousand dollar annual budget. But even as hearings on the proposal begin, the effort seems to be losing steam.
July 18, 1997 - Midday features a special report on teen curfews, with a follow up discussion with guests Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman in the St. Paul studios; and in MPR's Collegeville bureau, Sherry Smolik, coordinator of the St. Cloud Area Violence Prevention Council. The guests also answer listener call-in questions.
August 28, 1997 -
August 29, 1997 - A coalition of black leaders in Minneapolis spoke out today on the latest developments in the police shooting of a Minneapolis teenager. 15-year-old Lawrence Miles Jr. was seriously wounded by police on August 16th when an officer thought the boy was aiming a gun at his partner. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun. The Minneapolis Police department originally reported the boy had been shot in the chest, but the Minneapolis Fire Department contradicted that report, saying the boy was shot in the upper back. Today a group of black leaders called for an independent investigator and prosecutor to be appointed to the case, and brought in its own forensic pathologist to examine the boy.
September 3, 1997 - The Minneapolis murder rate is down sharply. So far this year 36 people have been killed. That compares with 69 at this time last year, and 73 for the same period two years ago. Homicides two years ago set a record. Police, prosecutors and politicans told reporters Wednesday what they think has worked and what still needs to be done.