October 12, 2001 - Middle Eastern patients visiting the Mayo Clinic left Rochester earlier than usual this year following the events of September 11th. While typically, Mayo's international clientele schedule their medical stays during the summer months, this year many left abruptly, hurrying through their final courses of treatment to get home before the outbreak of war. While Mayo officials maintain their losses if any, are small, others in Rochester's service industries say the effects are evident in their bottom line. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports:
October 10, 2001 - The headless bodies of Mary Zalman and Mohammed Taiff were found in a rural area in Olmstead County. The bodies were found in 1999 and now the killer can be identified: her husband.
August 22, 2001 - St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman kicked off a five-city fly-around today (WEDNESDAY) in Rochester as part of a campaign to promote tourism in the capital city. Coleman is widely expected to challenge DFL incumbent Paul Wellstone for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2002, and today's excursion could be perceived as an early warm up for the race ahead. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally has this report.
July 31, 2001 -
July 24, 2001 - An estimated 1-hundred employees at I-B-M's Rochester plant received pink slips today (TUESDAY) as officials move to scale back the facilities largest hardware division. The I-B-M plant is Rochester's second largest employer, with more than 5-thousand workers. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports industry analysts predict more layoffs to come.
July 6, 2001 - More than a million tiny weed-eating beetles have been released in endangered wetlands around the state by the Department of Agriculture. Since the early 90's beetles have been used as natures foil to purple loosestrife, a noxious, invasive weed that has crowded native plants out of more than 50-thousand Minnesota acres. Now a group of Red Wing High School students plan to build on the beetle's success, by introducing them to a new loosestrife-ridden site. But first, as Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally reports, they have to catch some. Carloads of Fish and Wildlife students bunch out along the edge of a Frontenac State Park waterway not far from their Red Wing school. Armed with small plastic bottles, students in waders and tennis shoes like Trent Nolton, examine tall purple-flowered reeds for galerucella beetles.
July 5, 2001 - Race relations in Rochester are in turmoil, following allegations of police brutality involving a minor at a local dance club. The incident is being investigated by local police, and the FBI, but tempers flared today when members of the African American community sat down for heated discussion with Rochester's mayor and chief of police. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports
July 3, 2001 - Opponents of a large hog farm expansion proposed for rural Waseca County, served county commissioners with a lawsuit today after the board voted overwhelmingly to approve the project. This is the second time in less than year that the same farm family has seen their expansion plans complicated by litigation. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports:
June 20, 2001 - Census 2000 confirmed some common perceptions; that Mainstreet is showing its age. A population shift has brought young people into the booming urban economy, a trend that's already producing significant economic effects. As a rural workforce of farmers and factory workers settle into retirement, they are no longer replaced by their children. In the latest installment of our series "Aging Gracefully" Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally reports on the changes in store for rural Minnesota. BACKANNOUNCE: As our series "Aging Gracefully" continues, tomorrow a look at one small town on the North Shore coming up with creative ways to meet the needs of older residents. There's more information on our series, as well as images and statistics at MinnesotaPublicRadio.o-r-g
June 4, 2001 - The Mayo Clinic is latest major employer to announce changes in employee retirement benefits as the baby boom generation prepares to exit the workforce. The changes scheduled to go into effect over the next two years, target the current pension plan and post-retirement medical benefits. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports: