May 14, 2001 - President Bush will unveil his energy policy next Thursday when he visits St. Paul. He'll highlight the efforts of the city's riverfront District Energy plant, which provides heating and cooling to many downtown businesses. The President is expected to encourage conservation and the development of more renewable energy sources. But as midwest gas prices hover around the two dollar mark, his primary focus will be increasing conventional energy supplies. Mayor Norm Coleman says the trip is a tremendous honor for St. Paul.
May 9, 2001 - The number of jobless claims in Minnesota last month jumped 77 percent from the same time last year. The dramatic increase comes on the heels of a string of layoffs at big Minnesota employers like 3M and Honeywell. Jay Mousa is research director for the Minnesota Department of Economic Security. He says the number is one more sign of an economic downturn:
May 9, 2001 - With little more than a week left in this year's legislative session, lawmakers are working at a frantic pace to deliver bills to the Governor's desk. The process of how those bills come together, does not generally inspire much excitement. But for a Rutger's University Professor, it has inspired his life's work. Alan Rosenthal has studied state legislatures for most of his career. He just spent two weeks researching the daily grind at Minnesota's capitol for a new book. He says making laws is not an exact science, but its not supposed to be:
May 8, 2001 - The National Park Service is beefing up its effort to stop the spread of zebra mussels in the St. Croix River. Since 1994, the federal agency has restricted access to boaters traveling north of Stillwater. Park Service officers monitored boat traffic from a houseboat near the Arcola sandbar 6 miles upstream. Now the Park Service is moving its checkpoint closer to Stillwater. Zebra Mussel Prevention Coordinator Byron Karns says the Park Service is trying to tighten up the checkpoint.
May 2, 2001 - Former Minnesota Congressman Tim Penny is one of seven Democrats President Bush appointed today to his Social Security study commission. The commission will release a report this fall outlining recommendations for avoiding a deficit in the program. The President has proposed letting younger workers voluntarily invest some of their payroll taxes in private accounts. Penny also supports partial privitization and says he is happy to be on the commission:
May 1, 2001 - Severe weather continues to pummel parts of Minnesota. We've had reports of several possible tornadoes. Currently there is a tornado warning for Waseca and Steele counties until 6:45. There have also been numerous thunderstorms. We have a warning in effect for Dakota, Washington, Ramsey and Pine counties until 6:30. Rich Nystat is a meterologist with the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. He says these storms have been very strong.
April 27, 2001 - If you hate to ask for directions, take heart. Using the Global Positioning System - or G-P-S for short- you can always know where you are AND how to get to where you want to go. The technology uses satellites to pinpoint exact locations on the earth's surface. Steve Bahler (BAY-ler) is helping to develop and implement G-P-S at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. He was part of a University of Minnesota roundtable discussion this afternoon on wireless technology. Bahler (BAY-ler) says MNdot uses G-P-S mainly to track the locations of its snowplows, maintainance vechicles and state patrol squad cars. And he says a company called "Onstar" has developed the same techology to help consumers track whatever they're craving:
April 26, 2001 - Today's high topped out in the Twin Cities at a remarkable seventy-seven degrees. That's about fifteen degrees above average and even more welcome than usual after what so far has been a cool, wet spring. But if the warm weather has you daydreaming about summer travel, consider this- gas prices are rising right alongside the mercury. Dawn Duffy is Public Relations manager of AAA of Minneapolis. She says today's prices are much higher than the same time last year:
April 18, 2001 - As a child of the 1950s, Cheri Register remembers being caught up in the culture of the times. South Pacific was playing at the Albert Lea movie theater and American Bandstand dominated weeknight television. But even at the tender age of 14, Register recognized there was another side to her life that was deeply rooted in working-class values. Albert Lea was a meatpacking town and Register's father was one of the 56-hundred employees who worked for the Wilson and Company Packinghouse. In 1959, the workers demanded better wages which the company didn't want to pay. The dispute intensified and work at the plant stopped... whether it was a lockout or a strike is still debated. In her new memoir "Packinghouse Daughter" Register describes how the event divided her town. She says at first, the community supported the packinghouse workers:
April 13, 2001 - Every day forecasters are recalculating the flood outlook. Yesterday brought good news when they lowered some crest projections by up to a foot and a half. Today's outlook is largely unchanged from yesterday with river projections moving up or down by only a few tenths of an inch. Gary McDevitt is a hydrologist with the National Weather Service.