March 11, 1999 - The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled protesting at privately-owned shopping malls such as the Mall of America is not protected speech. The ruling stems from the case of several animal-rights activists who were arrested while protesting a Macy's department store fur sale.
February 3, 1999 - A lawyer for the Minnesota Twins asked the State Supreme Court today to block Attorney General Mike Hatch's investigation into whether the ball club broke anti-trust laws. The A-G's office wants to look into whether Major League Baseball conspired to keep other baseball teams from locating to Minnesota if the Twins made good on their threat to move to North Carolina.
February 3, 1999 - The Minnesota Supreme Court today hears arguments on whether the Attorney General's office can investigate whether the Twins threat to move to North Carolina violated anti-trust laws. Attorneys for the Twins and Major League Baseball say the investigation is pointless because Baseball is exempt from anti-trust laws.
January 28, 1999 - The Minnesota Supreme Court has struck down the State's system of settling child support disputes out of court as unconstitutional. Some legislators say the ruling will lead to backlogs and risks millions of dollars in federal welfare funding. The court ruled Minnesota cannot use administrative law judges to modify child support orders after July first.
January 26, 1999 - A controversial project that opens child protection hearings to the public has gotten mixed reviews after its first six months. Supporters of the project hoped opening the once-closed hearings would spur more people to help abused children through adoption or foster care. They also believed the public would help determine whether the child protection system is working. But opponents argued the publicity would harm children whose cases came under the glare of media attention. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports it appears neither has happened.
January 22, 1999 - Many consumers recognize their homeowner and auto insurance premiums are based on risk; if you've totaled 10 cars in the past 10 years you can expect to pay higher auto insurance rates. But insurance companies are using another tool to set rates and in some cases, deny coverage: your credit rating. Attorney General Mike Hatch wants the practice stopped and will propose legislation later today prohibiting insurance companies from using credit information.
December 30, 1998 - Minnesota's tobacco trial will go down as one of the nation's biggest legal stories of the year. Twin Cities lawyers took on what's historically been a tough industry to battle and secured nearly seven-billion dollars for the State and Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki looks back at the trial of the year.
December 14, 1998 - A federal judge today sentenced Buster and Duddy Jefferson to life in prison without parole for their roles in one of the city's most horrific crimes in Saint Paul history---the firebombing of an East Saint Paul home that killed five young children in 1994. A jury convicted gang leader Buster Jefferson of ordering fellow gang members including his half brother Duddy to firebomb the home of a man believed to be a police informant--Andrew Coppage. Coppage escaped the fire but his five brothers and sisters perished. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports: Judge Michael Davis spoke slowly and softly as he told reputed gang leader Buster Jefferson that the 23 year old will spend the rest of his life in a federal prison with no chance for parole. Davis said Jefferson headed one of the most violent gangs the state has ever seen...a group which Davis
December 2, 1998 - The U-S Supreme Court hears arguments on a Minnesota treaty rights case this week (December 2nd) that could have wide-ranging implications for tribal rights throughout the country. The Court will decide whether the Mille Lacs (mill-LAKS') Band of Chippewa has retained rights to spearfish off its reservation free from State regulation. Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports: The Chippewa say they need to carry on their centuries-old practice of spearfishing to keep their culture alive. But that tradition has enraged sportsfishermen and resort owners. They say the chippewa are depleting the lakes of the highly prized game fish--walleye. Spearing is an efficient way to fish and can result in a catch of hundreds of walleye in a few hours. During the 1980's violence erupted over this conflict in Wisconsin; a
November 25, 1998 - The most recent Surgeon General's report find Native Americans have the highest adult smoking rates of any ethnic or minority group in the country. The report finds tobacco use among Native Americans has soared more than 40-percent at a time when it has levelled off among other racial groups. As a result, more Native Americans are dying of respiratory cancers than ever before. Health officials are alarmed but as Minnesota Public Radio's Elizabeth Stawicki reports, anti-tobacco programs take on new complexities for many Native Americans who've long viewed tobacco as a sacred gift: To get a sense of tobacco's place in indian culture one needs to look no further than a traditional pow wow. (sound of leader talking about of tobacco/creation)