December 18, 2001 - The U.S. Senate is trying to wrap up its work on a number of bills before the holiday recess. President Bush's education bill passed the Senate overwhelmingly today. The bill calls for annual math and reading tests for (m) millions of students. Only ten senators voted against the bill--including Minnesota D-F-L Senators Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton. While work on the education bill appears to be finished--the farm bill is stalled. Republicans refused for the second time in as many weeks to allow a vote on the bill. Republicans say the bill would stimulate excess production and hold down commodity prices. Democrats--including Senator Paul Wellstone--say they will keep trying to get approval before lawmakers head home for the year. Wellstone says the farm bill is not perfect but it should pass:
December 14, 2001 - Researchers in Antartica are celebrating the 90th anniversary of the first expedition to reach the South Pole. Norweigen Roald Amundsen led the five-man team that made it to the Pole by dog sled after two bitter months on the snow and ice. Minnesota native Katy Jensen is manager of the South Pole research station. She says Amundsen's team probably didn't spend much time celebrating their achievement:
December 13, 2001 - Researchers in Antartica are celebrating the 90th anniversary of the first expedition to reach the South Pole. Norweigen Roald Amundsen led the five-man team that made it to the pole by dog sled after two bitter months on the snow and ice. Minnesota-native Katy Jensen is manager of the South Pole Station. She says Amundsen's team probably didn't spend much time celebrating their achievement:
December 12, 2001 - The Star Tribune is reporting that Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Joan Ericksen Lancaster is the Bush Administration's choice to fill a federal judgeship in Minneapolis. Lancaster isn't commenting on the report. Lancaster began her career as a civil trial lawyer and served as assistant U-S Attorney. She was a Hennepin County district judge in 1998 when then-Governor Arne Carlson appointed her to the state's highest court. He says she was an obvious choice to fill that seat:
December 11, 2001 - A federal grand jury today indicted Zacarias Moussaoui for consipacy to commit the September 11th terrorist attacks. The 30-page indictment lists six counts against Moussaoui, four of them are punishable by death if he is convicted. The French Moroccan first raised investigators' suspicions when he took flight lessons in Eagan a month before the hijackings. Tom Heffelfinger is Minnesota's U-S Attorney. I asked for his reaction to the indictment:
December 11, 2001 - A Defense Department study shows Gulf War veterans are nearly twice as likely to develop Lou Gehrigs Disease- or ALS- as other military personnel. Department of Veterans affairs continue research on the connection between other illnesses and the Gulf War and increase research into ALS in search of a cause, treatment and cure. Moorhead native Kevin Shores believes he is suffering from a gulf war illness. He says The new research, which included nearly 2.5 million military personnel, is one of the largest epidemiological studies ever conducted and offers the most conclusive evidence to date linking Gulf War veterans to a disease. Still, researchers don't know why these veterans were more likely to get sick. Kevin Shores has gulf war sydrome
December 11, 2001 - The Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee is launching a program to combat the spread of tuberculosis in Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan. A team of health experts just completed a tour of the camps to assess the need for drugs and diagnostic equipment. A-R-C executive director Joe Bock led the trip. He says conditions in the camps were worse than he expected:
December 10, 2001 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson talks with Minnesota explorer Ann Bancroft. At this time a year ago explorer Ann Bancroft was on the polar plateau of Antarctica, pulling a 250-pound sled with teammate Liv Arneson. The pair became the first women in history to cross the continent on skis.
December 7, 2001 -
December 6, 2001 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews Minneapolis artist Aldo Moroni, who was selected to craft Minnesota's ornament for the Christmas tree in the White House. The resulting creation? An ice fishing house, of course.