September 5, 1997 - Here's today's news quiz. What costs nearly as much as a new baseball stadium and goes ding-ding? Times up. It's LRT, of course - light rail transit. Just when you thought it's safe to consign LRT to the attic of public policy debate, out it comes. On the drawing board is a Hiawatha Avenue 'transit way'. LRT boosters want to build a line from the University of Minnesota, run it by a new ball park, past the existing Metrodome, through downtown Minneapolis, then out to the airport and the Mall of America along Hiawatha AVenue. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. tape . . . bus Buses - you remember buses - those big vehicles seldom seen anymore because of all the route cutbacks - buses, at the ver
September 5, 1997 - Midday presents a report by Dan Olson about the prospects for a Light Rail Transit line in the Twin Cities, followed by a discussion of the transit issue with guests Nacho Diaz, Transportation Planning Director for the Metropolitan Coucil, and Ken Stevens, Director of the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority. Listeners call in with questions. (program ends early due to special coverage)
September 1, 1997 - Classes start tomorrow at Edison High School in Minneapolis. A summer flood did millions of dollars in damage to the northeast Minneapolis facility. But school officials say an around-the-clock repair effort and an outpouring of help from volunteers will allow the district to open the doors on schedule. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more. Volunteer Gloria Sat, an Edison graduate from the l980's, didn't wait to be told where to go or what to do. Finding no one at the volunteer desk, she walked until she found someone who needed help organizing a classroom. Sat says many neighborhood residents are Edison grads and have a good feeling about the school. tape . . . i live northeast, it's our school we're hear to help out.
August 25, 1997 - One of the newer animal exhibits at the Minnesota State Fair is The Butterfly House. David Bohlken, of St. Paul, has set up a big see-through, tent-like enclosure the size of a double garage, which originator Bolhken says is a great scientific study.
August 24, 1997 - MPR’s Dan Olson visits Minnesota State Fair bee exhibit superintendent Winnie Johnson in the horticulture building to discuss bees in our state. Johnson raises bees in Anoka County.
August 21, 1997 - The latest wave of immigrants arriving in Minnesota includes the parents or grandparents of earlier immigrants. A large number are from the former Soviet Union, and they have decided to live in the suburbs near their families. They want to learn English but the people who teach ESL or English as a Second Language courses are having a hard time keeping up with the demand. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson has more.
August 1, 1997 - Midday presents converations with former Governor and Agriculture Secretary Orville Freeman and the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General John Vessey, as part of the continuing "Voices of Minnesota" series, with reporter Dan Olson.
July 2, 1997 - A private, non-profit group is rebuilding houses on a rundown block in Minneapolis' Phillips neighborhood. The St. Joseph's HOPE Community has rehabilitated 8 buildings, built a playground and a community center. Much of the work is being done by volunteers and most of the financing is from donations. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.
June 30, 1997 - Minnesota's population of people from Somalia is small but growing fast. The number has more than doubled in the past two years to about 8000. The attraction is the state's booming economy. But unlike some other economic migrants many of the Somali's arrive as refugees with no money and little English. What they find is a climate and culture vastly different from their homeland.
June 27, 1997 - A big Somali fundraising event at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis Saturday evening is an effort to raise money for some of the neediest refugees who have moved to Minnesota. The event symbolizes the rapid growth of the Somali population in Minnesota. Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson reports.