November 5, 1999 - Nearly five hundred educators are in Mahnomen this week for the annual convention of the Minnesota Indian Education Association. Organizers say it's the highest attendance in the fourteen year history of the Association. Educators say there's a renaissance underway, as traditional culture and spirituality are re-discovered and embraced by the younger generation.
September 15, 1999 - The precarious farm economy has accelerated population decline in northwest Minnesota. In turn, that's intensified competition for students among schools faced with declining enrollment. Some say the competition allowed under Minnesota's open enrollment law makes for better education, but others worry where marketing schools may lead.
September 3, 1999 - MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports on the International Plowing Competition in Rollag, Minnesota. Farmers from 30 states are competing for the national plowing title. The event is part of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion.
August 20, 1999 - Senator Rod Grams told farmers today in Moorhead, Alexandria and St. Cloud he supports short term aid to help them weather the current farm crisis. But the GOP lawmaker says a free market system is still better than government subsidies. Grams criticized democrats for politicizing the farm crisis by blaming the Republican Freedom to Farm Act for problems in the ag economy.
August 16, 1999 - Saying he wants to put the farm crisis on the national agenda U-S Senator Paul Wellstone today started a weeklong series of meetings in northwestern Minnesota. Wellstone tried to give hope to farmers discouraged by years of bad crops and low prices.
August 11, 1999 - Mainstreet Radio is visiting several towns, each trying a different technique to make sure they are "wired." Just as small rural communities once competed for rail lines, now towns see telecommunications as the vital link which will keep them flourishing.
August 11, 1999 - A three year investigation into allegations of fraud in the housing program on the White Earth Indian reservation may result in federal indictments. The current tribal government says millions of dollars intended for housing was misappropriated during the administration of Darrell "Chip" Wadena. Wadena, who recently completed a two year federal prison sentence for corruption, denies the allegations. Tribal leaders are also blaming the federal government, claiming it failed to properly monitor how federal housing funds were used.
August 10, 1999 - Today in a Montana courtroom, 38-year old Floyd Tapson was sentenced to life in prison for the attempted murder of a developmentally disabled woman. Investigators in Minnesota and North Dakota say Floyd Tapson may know what happened to three young developmentally disabled women who have disappeared over the past 12 years. The cases were cold until the Montana case against Tapson attracted the attention of investigators in Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Wadena.
July 30, 1999 - Thousands of people of Icelandic heritage are gathering this weekend in Mountain, a tiny town located in the hills and valleys of northeastern North Dakota. Even the president of Iceland will be there. The party of the century will mark the 100th year Icelanders in Mountain have celebrated the Icelandic holiday known as August the Deuce.
July 30, 1999 - Thousands of people of Icelandic heritage are gathering this weekend in Mountain, a tiny town located in the hills and valleys of northeastern North Dakota. Even the president of Iceland will be there. The party of the century will mark the 100th year Icelanders in Mountain have celebrated the Icelandic holiday known as August the Deuce.