March 12, 2003 - A Minneapolis public library board committee may approve a plan to close four branch libraries later today. The move will help the board move closer towards a goal of shaving million dollars from the library budget this year. Joining us on the line is Kit Hadley, executive director of the Minneapolis Public Libraries. -- Which of the four branch libraries are likely to close? -- How much will such a move save? -- Why these libraries? -- How else will you change the system to help mitigate the pain of these closings?
March 12, 2003 -
March 12, 2003 -
March 7, 2003 - The state of Minnesota is expected to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching funds... if the legislature passes Governor Tim Pawlenty's proposed cuts to health care programs in the state's budget. Missing out on the federal dollars is the topic of an article in this week's edition of "The Business Journal." Scott Smith is the reporter who wrote the story. He says state health officials are trying to calculate how much federal money the state will lose.
February 21, 2003 - The Climate Prediction Center releases the new seasonal outlook on Thursday Feb 20 this week. This will look ahead to the period from March through May. I will have some comments. This weekend, I will be attending the Annual Lake Superior Design Retreat of the American Institute of Architects in Duluth. The topic I am covering concerns "Weather Myth and Little Known Weather Facts"......I have some examples...
January 31, 2003 - A group called the Air Cargo Development committee wants to stop the loss of international air freight business to Chicago. The group wants to develop a major freight operation near the Twin Cities International airport... and is teaming up with the Metropolitan Airports Commission and the Minnesota Transportation Department to lobby the state for help. They want 3 million dollars from the legislature to pay for a study of the idea... which they're calling "The Minnesota Gateway Project." The story is the topic of an article in today's edition of "The Business Journal." Reporter Andrew Tellijohn wrote the story and says putting the Gateway Project in a central location would be an important start.
January 24, 2003 - Hotels in Minneapolis are getting a major face-lift. The opening of new downtown hotels is pushing the older ones to keep up with multi-million dollar renovations. The trend to upgrade is the topic of an article in this week's edition of "The Business Journal." Reporter Andrew Tellijohn says there are several hotels that are making major changes.
January 17, 2003 - Governor Tim Pawlenty is expected to publicly reveal his choice for Department of Natural Resources commissioner later today. Gene Merriam is a former DFL state senator from Coon Rapids. His name rose to the top of the list after an intense 2-month search for the right person for the job. He met Pawlenty's requirement that the DNR commissioner be an outdoors enthusiast. Merriam is also a former chair of the Senate Finance and Environment and Natural Resources committee... and cosponsored a bill that created the state's environmental trust fund. Republican Dennis Ozment is chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee. He says he's pleased with the announcement.
January 3, 2003 -
January 2, 2003 -