April 16, 1999 - This afternoon House and Senate negotiators signed off on an agreement to cut a farm-aid proposal free from the ongoing wrangling over tax rebates and send it to the Governor as soon as possible. The $70-million-dollar package is meant to help farmers through the agriculture crisis by giving them a $4-dollar-an-acre rebate on the property taxes. Many farmers say the aid is a nice gesture, but it's probably not going to save many farms.
April 16, 1999 - This weekend a top official from the US Department of Justice will be in the Twin Cities to hear from farmers concerned about dropping prices and growing consolidation in agri-business. Many farmers struggling to get by, suspect one reason the prices they're being offered for their crops and livestock are so low is because there are fewer companies competing for their business.
April 20, 1999 - Northwest Airlines is reporting it lost money during the first three months of the year. But the first quarter results weren't as bad as Wall Street analysts had expected.
April 27, 1999 - Minnesota's new welfare system has been in place for a year and a half now. The program has helped welfare recipients wade through obstacles to finding jobs, medical care, transportation and child care, but for many families, it still falls short. The Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches is trying to fill that gap. The council has already recruited more than 2000 volunteers to serve as mentors to families on welfare. Many of the volunteers have been involved in a 30-week pilot program that ran this past year. The council will officially launch the program at a town meeting tonight and try to recruit three-thousand more mentors. Reverend Gary Ry-er-son, the president of the council says the volunteers provide a unique form of support to families moving off welfare.
April 30, 1999 - The Minnesota House has approved a tax relief package worth $3.3 Billion dollars over two years -- potentially the largest tax cut in state history. House Republicans say the bill is just a "down-payment" on the tax relief promises they made during the election -- but Senate Democrats say Republicans have gone too far.
May 1, 1999 - American RadioWorks presents the documentary “The Forgotten 14 Million,” which explores why both government and the free market are failing the most vulnerable young Americans.
May 7, 1999 - A focus on Downtown with Sam Grabarski, of the Downtown Council; Greg Ortale, of the Convention & Visitors Association; and Council President Jackie Cherryhomes. Featuring interviews about downtown with Barbara Flanagan, Neil Justin and "CJ" of the Star Tribune.
May 19, 1999 - Looking ahead to Light Rail Transit in the Twin Cities. Now that the legislature has approved funding, what will we see, and when? Guests include Peter McLaughlin, the chair of the Metropolitan LRT Joint Powers Board; and John Byrd, assistant general manager for Rail Operations at Metro Transit.
May 26, 1999 - A Mainstreet Radio special broadcast from Lake Benton. Rachel Reabe hosts a discussion about deregulation of the electric industry with guests Steve Minn, Minnesota Public Service commissioner; Jim Nichols, Arlene Lesewski, Republican state senator from Marshall; Michael Noble, executive director of Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy; and Rick Lemonds, general manager of Lyon-Lincoln Electric Cooperative.
June 1, 1999 - Pleasure travelers can expect to pay more for a plane ticket this summer. Continental raised its fares by 4 percent over memorial day weekend. Every major airline, including Twin Cities based Northwest, has followed suit. This is the third time U-S airlines have raised prices this year. Terry Trippler is an airline expert who runs the website onetravel-dot-com. He says that given the current market for airtravel, this latest fare increase is not surprising.