December 8, 1999 - Layoffs at four of IBM's US plants were announced today....including nearly 150 workers at the company's Rochester plant. Nation-wide about three percent of workers in IBM's business computer section have been laid off. Company officials say the cutbacks are at the low end in terms of expected numbers.
December 17, 1999 - A recent layoff at IBM in Rochester is providing an experienced pool of applicants for other worker-hungry high-tech firms. The unemployment rate in Rochester is a slim 1.7 percent--even lower for skilled technology workers. Minnesota Public Radio's Art Hughes reports the layoffs aren't bad news for everyone.
December 28, 1999 - Join host Gary Eichten for an end-of-the-year conversation with Minnesota Public Radio's Chief Economics Correspondent Chris Farrell. He'll discuss economics in 1999 and will give his stock market prediction for 2000.
December 28, 1999 - The state and its second largest union have avoided a strike by reaching a tentative employment contract. The agreement gives members of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees -- or MAPE -- a two and a half percent raise the first year and a three percent increase the second. The union had asked for a four percent raise in both the first and second years.
December 30, 1999 - 1999 was another big year for corporate mergers. When New Jersey based Allied Signal bought Honeywell for nearly 16 billion dollars, it became the second year in a row that Minnesota lost the headquarters of a Fortune 500 company. In 1998, Minneapolis had lost the corporate offices of Norwest Bank when it acquired Wells Fargo and moved its top executives to San Francisco. It's clear the forces driving such mergers will continue -- even though investors are increasingly skeptical of buyouts. Bill Catlin of Minnesota Public Radio has the next in our series of reports on the year ahead.
December 31, 1999 - We've been talking about it for months- even years, and finally we're on the brink of the Year 2000. Today, Jon Gordon, MPR reporter and producer of Future Tense; and Mike O'Connor, retired Internet pioneer and volunteer Y2K advisor for St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman, provide last minute Y2K tips and take questions. We also monitor what's happening when the clock strikes 12 around the world.
December 31, 1999 - In November, St. Paul voters rejected Mayor Norm Coleman's proposal to build a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins. Coleman had sold the stadium as a key link in his efforts to rejuvenate downtown St. Paul. But it was only one piece of a broader strategy to attract business and build grand new public amenities. In another of our series of reports on the year ahead, Minnesota Public Radio's Andrew Haeg looks at prospects for reviving St. Paul.
February 11, 2000 - Midday’s Gary Eichten spends the hour talking with Sharon Sayles Belton, mayor of Minneapolis, about what she sees as the state and health of the city. Topics include crime prevention and affordable housing, amongst others. Sayles Belton also answers listener questions.
February 24, 2000 - Sam Grabarski, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council; and Steve Cramer, executive director of the Minneapolis Community Development Agency discuss downtown Minneapolis and what to do with "Block E."
February 28, 2000 - MPR’s John Rabe talks with Ralph Nader, Green Party presidential candidate. Nader discusses the issues in the campaign, including wealth discrepancy in country, labor laws, gun control, and environment. Nader also answers listener questions.