May 17, 2001 - When President Bush lays out his administrations energy agenda today in St. Paul he is expected to call for new nuclear energy plants, and the extension of the lives of current plants. While there no immediate plans to break ground for additional nuclear plants here in Minnesota, the state legislature is pondering a controversial proposal to increase storage capacity at the Prairie Island nuclear plant. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports:
May 2, 2001 -
April 27, 2001 - It's been three years since a tornado wiped out Saint Peter's famous canopy of trees. This weekend, a new playground is going up to mark the spot where one of the town's huge trees grew. More than a thousand volunteers will transform an empty spot into a scene out of ninetieth century river town life. Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally reports:
April 25, 2001 - As soon as the Mississippi River reopens to barge travel, rafts of corn kernels will head down river en route to their final destination -- Southeast Asia. Along the way kernels will be tested and retested for traces of Starlink, a genetically modified corn now banned around the world. Last fall Starlink turned up in taco shells and corn chips, prompting mass recalls and a shake up on the export market. The corn's manufacturer continues to push for full governmental approval which would allow for human consumption, but with the spring thaw, Midwestern grain elevators and their customers are preparing for round two. Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally reports:
April 24, 2001 - Veterans of several high profile feedlot battles to support Waseca residents who are fighting a 1,600-cow dairy operation. The operation would be to expand the feedlot while foregoing pollution constraints.
April 17, 2001 - Mississippi River communities along the Minnesota and Wisconsin boarder are anxiously waiting for water levels to crest. Wabasha officials hope the worst is over their town, after the Mississippi reached its expected peak early this morning at more than 6-feet over flood stage. As the water slowly begins to recede in Wabasha, further down river Winona is anticipating the Mississippi will hit the high mark any time today. Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports from another Mississippi River town, La Crosse, where crest height and timing remain unclear. {(rushing water sound)
April 16, 2001 - For more than two weeks now the houseboat residents on Latch Island have watched the Mississippi rise to its highest levels in three decades. Positioned between Winona and the Wisconsin border, and surrounded by river and other flood plain islands, Latch Island serves as a year round anchor for an estimated thirty houseboats. Mainstreet Radio's Erin Galbally reports many in the unusual community plan to wait out the flood waters as the river prepares to crest on Wednesday. {It's taken a few weeks, but slowly, Latch Island has disappeared. Spindly trees holding out against the current are the only things that identify what was land. Sol Simon owns one of the floating cottages that continue to bob along despite the rising river.
April 12, 2001 - NOTE: dated language in copy use THURSDAY only Attention has focused in the past week, on places like Breckenridge and Moorhead in the Red River valley - and Granite Falls and Montevideo along the Minnesota River. Communities along many of southeastern Minnesota's smaller water ways have been bracing for floods as well after days of pounding rain. But as Minnesota Public Radio's Erin Galbally reports flood preparation there, is mostly a waiting game.
April 4, 2001 - MPR’s Erin Galbally reports on the growing Somali immigrant population in Owatonna and the reflection of that number in the 2000 census. She speaks with Abdul Aziz Ahmed a cultural liaison at Owatonna High School who moved to the city in 1997. He speaks on the potential inaccuracy of the 2000 census in reflecting true numbers of Somali residents. Some Somali families are hesitant to respond to the census due to distrust of the government, large family sizes which may break housing code, or may respond inaccurately.
April 2, 2001 -