April 1, 2003 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson talks with Nora Tallus, one of six women's college hockey players from the University of Minnesota-Duluth who returned from China and find themselves quarantined in case they contracted Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome, aka SARS. The players were in Beijing to compete in the women's world championships, but the event was canceled over fears of spreading the disease.
March 31, 2003 - All Things Considered’s Lorna Benson gets sports commentary on the 2003 University of Minnesota women's basketball season from Star Tribune’s Pam Schmid. The Gophers made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time in the team's 29 year history.
March 31, 2003 - University officials across the country are closely following an affirmative action case that will be before the U-S Supreme Court tomorrow. The justices will hear arguments about whether the University of Michigan's undergraduate college and law school should be allowed to use race as a factor in admissions. Mark Rotenberg is general counsel for the University of Minnesota and will be in the Supreme Court chamber to hear the case. He says the case raises critical issues for higher education:
March 19, 2003 - Senator Norm Coleman stuck with a campaign promise today (Weds)and voted against allowing oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. President Bush has argued that ANWR's oil - anywhere from 5.6 billion to 16 billion barrels - should be tapped to reduce America's dependence on foreign crude. Environmentalists say that the wildlife refuge should be preserved as a sanctuary for polar bears, musk oxen, caribou, and migratory birds. Coleman was one of only eight Republicans who voted against the drilling. He said he might have supported the plan if it placed more emphasis on bio-diesel.
March 19, 2003 - Hundreds of protesters are gathered on the Lake Street bridge at this hour. They're there to show their opposition to the impending war with Iraq. Reporter Marisa Helms is there and joins me now... -- Describe the scene, whats the mood like there? -- What have you heard from the protesters? -- Is there anyone there supporting the war?
March 14, 2003 - Starting next year, the U of M will have an admissions counselor working full-time to recruit undergraduates from the Chicago area. It will be the first time the school makes such an intensive effort to attract students who aren't from Minnesota or Wisconsin. Craig Swan is the University's vice provost for undergraduate education. He says a lot of factors make Illinois a good recruiting ground:
March 13, 2003 - Bush administration officials say removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq will encourage democracy in countries across the Middle East. But commentator Brian Atwood says the democratic formula isn't quite so simple:
February 6, 2003 - Governor Tim Pawlenty asked Minnesotans to prepare to make sacrifices today in his first state of the state address. He said the state is facing what he called "the incredible hulk of budget deficits" and warned it could get worse. The governor laid out broad plans to create more jobs, reform the state's education system, and overhaul the state transportation department. He says he will accomplish all these goals without breaking his pledge not to raise taxes. Towards the end of the speech, the governor issued a challenge to all Minnesotans to help fix the state's projected four-and-a-half b billion dollar deficit
February 3, 2003 - Coal has been admired as a precious stone, cursed as a health hazard, and hailed as the foundation of modern industry. Today, coal is the state's primary fuel for power plants. But, like most people, Barbara Freeze had never thought much about it. That changed when the former state assistant attorney general was assigned a case overseeing Minnesota's air quality laws. The case granted Freeze a unique look inside the coal industry. What she saw convinced her to quit her job and immerse herself in coal's 350 (m)million year history. Freeze's new book "Coal: A Human History" takes an in-depth look at that history and argues that the world's reliance on coal is taking a huge environmental toll. Freeze says it's hard to underestimate the impact coal has had.
January 29, 2003 - MPR’s Lorna Benson interviews John Munger about the first annual City of Lakes Loppet ski race. The lack of significant snow cover in the Twin Cities isn't going to derail event. Organizers are working to install a shortened course on the ice of Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. The race was conceived by R.T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis, as a way to help designate the city "the urban sports capitol of America." Munger, the race’s director, says experts from Mora's popular Vasaloppet ski marathon are tackling the difficult job of grooming the icy course.