September 27, 2000 - The federal Surface Transportation Board released a long awaited report today, recommending a route for the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern railroad to haul coal from Wyoming through South Dakota and Minnesota. The board issued a draft environmental impact statement after more than a year of research and public comment. The plan offered few surprises. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports.
September 14, 2000 - At the turn of the 20th century barns were the farm's cathedral. The red or white structures were designed and personalized for each farm family. The massive barns held livestock and tools with a second floor for hay and the occasional barn dance. Towering wooden barns have given way to sleek metal sheds on many farms and now, barns have become the stuff of historic preservation. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland reports.
August 29, 2000 - Fears have faded over whether farmers would have a market for genetically modified crops. In fact farmers seem to embrace the new technology. South Dakota leads the nation in the number of acres planted with GMO corn. Nearly half of the four million corn acres planted this year are considered genetically altered. Farmers say the new technology is worth fighting for because they get higher yields at a time when prices are low. Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland reports:
August 28, 2000 - Investigators continue their probe into a South Dakota train derailment that sent a 55-car Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern freight train slamming into eight rail cars in Brookings. The crash, which investigators say might have occured because of sabotage at a switching station, killed the conductor and injured an engineer early Saturday morning. The Brookings based DM&E is involved in a controversial expansion proposal to send longer, faster frieght trains through Minnesota and South Dakota. Opponents to the expansion say there is no way the two are linked. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports:
August 14, 2000 - Over the past year Minnesota based Hutchinson Technology International has cut more than three thousand jobs -- 40 percent of its workforce. HTI as the company's known has been battered by changes in technology that cut demand for its main product, a key component of computer disk drives..... But the firm's fortunes are improving, and that's good news for the small towns where the company is one of the biggest employers around. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports:
August 3, 2000 - Mainstreet Radio's Cara Hetland reports that farmers in Day County in northeastern South Dakota have spent the past eight years watching their farm fields become lakes. Day County is in an area known as the “prairie pot hole.” There's no drainage system for the sloughs now filled with water. Landowners who once grazed hundreds of head of cattle now see a new sight on their pastureland…fishing boats.
June 26, 2000 - A common fertilizer is a new target for drug manufacturers in rural counties. Small amounts of anhydrous (ann HIGH druss) ammonia are used to make methamphetamine. The powerful central nervous stimulant with a high potential for abuse and dependence is becoming more available in rural areas. Authorities say they're telling farmers to lock up a chemical that's typically left in the middle of the field over night. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland reports:
December 20, 1999 - Central High School in Pipestone, is one of the worst school buildings in the state. Several classrooms and the auditorium are closed by order of the fire marshal. In theory, everyone agrees the school is in bad shape and the consolidated district needs a new one. What they can't agree on is a plan for the new school, and if the town's agricultural-based economy can afford it. Residents vote tomorrow on a 20 million dollar bond referendum. Minnesota Public Radio's Cara Hetland says the issue that's divided the town, has also left students at Central thinking about the future.
December 6, 1999 - An advisory committee to the U-S Commission on Civil Rights is in South Dakota today to investigate complaints of injustice toward American Indians. Commission members will hear testimony and reports from law enforcement officials, prosecutors, tribal representatives and community leaders at a day long meeting in Rapid City.
November 2, 1999 - Members of Congress are starting to hear from a sector in the agriculture business they haven't heard much from before -- bankers. For the first time a task force of the American Bankers Association is taking a position on ag policy and recommending solutions to permanently lift farmers out of financial crisis mode.