June 1, 2001 - Nurses at Children's Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis and St. Paul are voting today on a new contract. Strikes were delayed at 7 other metro area hospitals when hospitals and nurses reached tentative last-minute contract agreements early this morning. The nurses had initially set a strike deadline of 5:30 this morning. The nurses say they remain ready to walk out if the contract offers are rejected this weekend. North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale settled with its nurses about two weeks ago. Nurses at 3 Health East hospitals ratified a contract yesterday that provided a salary increase of more than 20-percent over three years. Doctor Bob Beck is the Vice President for Medical Affairs at Health East Hospitals. He says he's pleased with the settlement:
May 28, 2001 - If you're on your way back from a long weekend at the lake- a little sad thinking about the work week ahead- don't despair, your trip to the northwoods isn't over yet. Minnesota author Douglas Wood is out with a new book about an island on sprawling Rainy lake near the Canadian border. Wood owns the island, and the small cabin a local craftsman built there in 1925. Woods book, "Fawn Island," is a collection of essays that explores how the wilderness retreat has shaped Wood's innermost thoughts and his view of the larger world.
May 28, 2001 - If you're on your way back from a long weekend at the lake- a little sad thinking about the work week ahead- don't despair, your trip to the northwoods isn't over yet. Minnesota author Douglas Wood is out with a new book about an island on sprawling Rainy lake near the Canadian border. Wood owns the island, and the small cabin a local craftsman built there in 1925. Woods book, "Fawn Island," is a collection of essays that explores how the wilderness retreat has shaped Wood's innermost thoughts and his view of the larger world. In the book, he writes "Fawn Island is a rugged but poetic outcrop of granite in the heart of the northwoods." He told Minnesota Public Radio's Lorna Benson that his rustic cabin reflects that landscape.
May 24, 2001 - The Duluth native has seen his life and music career documented over the airwaves, on television and film and on pages and pages of print. But perhaps no single person has written as much as music historian Michael Gray. Gray's latest book, "Song and Dance Man 3: The Art of Bob Dylan” is a detailed analysis of Dylan's 40 year career.
May 23, 2001 - Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone is cautiously optimistic about news that Senator James Jeffords of Vermont is leaving the Republican party. Jeffords' aides say he'll announce tomorrow that he's becoming an independent. Wellstone says the switch would be good for Democrats AND Minnesota:
May 18, 2001 - The St. Paul Saints open their 2001 season at Midway Stadium next Thursday against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. The Saints have moved to the Northern Division of the Northern Leaque this year after five years in the Eastern Division. The Saints join Duluth-Superior, Winnipeg and Schaumberg in the North. Marty Scott is Vice President of the Saints, and the team's former manager. He says there is no shortage of competition in the new division.
May 17, 2001 - Twins are now off to the best start in franchise history. In an interview with MPR’s Lorna Benson, baseball analyst Kevin Hennessy attributes most of the team's early success to good pitching.
May 16, 2001 - D-F-L lawmaker Phylis Kahn is trying to get the bandwagon rolling for a Twin Cities bid to host the summer Olympics. She's added an amendment to a financing bill for a new Twins ballpark that calls on Governor Ventura to evaluate whether it's feasible to compete for the 2012 games. The Twin Cities lost out to Atlanta in 1996. Kahn says even the process of applying for the games would do a lot for the area:
May 16, 2001 - By the time he was six years old, Jamling Norgay knew he wanted to climb Everest. Norgay's father, Tenzing Norgay, reached the summit of the world's tallest mountain with Sir Edmund Hilary in 1953. That climb took place twelve years before Jamling Norgay was born, but stories of his father's feat held Norgay's imagination. In 1996, mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears invited Norgay on an Everest expedition he was planning to document for an IMAX film. Norgay jumped at the chance to accomplish a personal goal and to honor his father:
May 14, 2001 - Marv Koep, the fishing guide for Governor Ventura's fishing opener, discusses what he is expecting and how he is preparing for the big day. He says he's excited to have such a colorful governor in his charge, but he's also a little nervous.