October 8, 2002 - MPR's William Wilcoxen reports from outside the Metrodome, where crowds are gathering for Game 1 against the Anaheim Angels in the American League Championship Series.
October 4, 2002 - Wildlife officials in Duluth are taking steps to deal with the city's resident bear population. The state Department of Natural Resources estimates between 12 and 20 bears live permanently in Duluth and surrounding towns. DNR wildlife manager Rich Staffon is considering options to destroy some of the most problematic bears. He says the animals are so tame they act like they're the neighborhood dog:
October 2, 2002 - Two Minnesota-based companies are on BusinessWeek magazine's list of the nation's top ten corporate boards. The magazine gives the boards of Medtronic and 3M high marks for independence, accountability and quality. By comparison, Apple, Xerox and Gap all made the "worst" list. And the magazine reserved companies like Enron, Tyco and Worldcom for a brand new category called the "Hall of Shame." Business Week Management Editor Louis Lavelle says 3M and Medtronic are both newcomers to the "best" list:
September 26, 2002 - A new museum devoted to Soviet-era Russian painting opened today in Bloomington. The museum is a labor of love for local art dealer Raymond Johnson, who has spent the last 13 years collecting in Russia. He began scouting trips to Russia soon after perestroika opened the country up, Ignoring cold war rhetoric that Russian art was of little value, he hired art historians from all over the former Soviet Union to help identify the most important artists. Johnson says he was quickly impressed by what he found:
September 24, 2002 - An accomplished climber from Duluth has died on Mount Ranier. Ed Hommer died yesterday when a basketball sized rock struck him as he made his way through one of the most dangerous sections of Ranier. The 46 year old Hommer who lost both his lower legs in a plane crash on Mount McKinley in 1981. He climbed using prosthetics.
September 18, 2002 - The University of Illinois is reporting the first West Nile virus death in a dog in the United States. Officials at the school say the eight-year old Irish Setter-golden retriever mix may have had another immunity compromising infection that contributed to his death. The virus primarily attacks birds, but mosquitoes can pass it to humans, horses and other hosts. The only other documented case of West Nile in a dog occured in Botswana in 1978. Dr. Jeff Bender is an assistant professor of veterinary public health at the University of Minnesota. He says pet owners shouldn't worry:
September 16, 2002 - The Minnesota Twins are preparing for the post season for the first time since 1991. The Twins clinched the A-L Central yesterday with a win over Cleveland and a White Sox loss to the Yankees. Gordon Wittenmeyer follows the Twins for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He says last night's lockerroom celebration went on and on.
September 16, 2002 - Officials are using bait and liquid smoke to trap a black bear that injured a man in a wildlife management area north of Milaca. Wildlife researcher Miles Becker is recovering from a broken leg and puncture wounds. He was attacked yesterday afternoon while tracking woodcocks that he and his colleagues had fitted with radio transmitters for a study. Dave Garshelis is a bear expert with the Department of Natural Resources. He spoke with Becker this morning. Garshelis says Becker was working with a receiver that suddenly made a loud static noise just before the bear attacked:
September 13, 2002 - Officials at the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center are alarmed at the number of birds they've seen with symptoms of west nile virus. Until a year ago, only about a dozen bird species were known to be hosts to the virus, primarily crows and blue jays. But the National Wildlife Health Center now estimates between 110 and 120 bird species have been infected. The Raptor Center's Dr. Patrick Redig says it seems like the most recent epidemic got its foothold in southern Ohio, and then advanced quickly to the Midwest. Redig says its too early to determine the extent of the West Nile outbreak in Minnesota's bird population:
September 13, 2002 - Singer songwriter Cliff Eberhardt says if he had known being a folk singer was going to be just as much work as a normal job, he might have steered his life in a different direction. For more than three decades, Eberhardt has toured the country with original songs, recording at least six C-D's along the way. He's also performed and collaborated with fellow folk stars like Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplasky and Suzanne Vega. Eberhardt wrote and recorded his new C-D, "School for love," during a diffacult year of his life... his mother became ill and died and he was in a bad car accident that's left him with chronic pain. He says both experiences helped focus the C-D's songs on issues of loss, friendship, family, romance and love: