December 16, 2003 - The capture of former Iraqi president Saddaam Hussein was an important moment for the U.S. soldiers there, and their families here at home. Brenna Linn of Richmond, Minnesota, just west of St. Cloud, has a son in the Army Reserves who is in Iraq and she joins us on the line.
December 16, 2003 - The Minneapolis school district has reached a tentative contract agreement with its teachers. The agreement would increase the total cost of compensation by six-point-one percent over two years. It would also retroactively restore pay increases based on education and experience, which the district has withheld from teachers since the start of the school year. More than two-thirds of the state's school districts are still without a contract for this school year... and are working under last year's contracts. Joining us now are two guests... John Sylvester from the Minnesota School Boards Association, and Judy Schaubach (SHAH-buck) from Education Minnesota, a union that represents about 70-thousand educators throughout the state. That is John Sylvester from the Minnesota School Boards Association. We also spoke with Judy Schaubach (SHAH-buck) of Education Minnesota, a union that represents about 70-thousand educators throughout the state.
December 16, 2003 - Governor Tim Pawlenty is on his way home this morning after a brief trip to Bosnia. More than a thousand Minnesota National Guard soldiers aren't quite as lucky. The Guardsmen and -women are part of a multinational deployment assigned to enforce the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended Bosnia's bloody civil war. As part of their regular routine, Minnesota troops patrol the mountains along the former front lines, looking for illegal weapons and reassuring a doubtful population. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo reports from Bosnia. --- (NAT: KNOCKING)
December 15, 2003 - Governor Tim Pawlenty's trip to Bosnia continues today (MONDAY) with a stop in Srebrenica (shreb-ruh-NEETZ-uh), site of a 1995 massacre of Bosnian Muslims by Serbian nationalists. Pawlenty is visiting the country to meet with Minnesota National Guard troops stationed there to enforce the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that brought an end to the Bosnian civil war. Pawlenty's first day in Bosnia coincided with news of Saddam Hussein's capture in Iraq. Minnesota Public Radio's Michael Khoo is in Bosnia and filed this report.
December 15, 2003 - The committees writing the proposed social studies standards are required to finish their work by the end of the day today. They are revising the original version of the standards, which was released in September and drew strong criticism. Some teachers, parents, and others said the first draft was politically biased, included too many names and facts, and contained age inappropriate standards. Dr. Todd Flanders is the chair of the committee that is writing the US History standards. Dr. Todd Flanders is the chair of the committee that is writing Minnesota's U-S history standards.
December 12, 2003 - Terry Smith recently retired from his job as special agent in charge of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's Bemidji office. While with the BCA, he helped lead the searches for Katie Poirier and Julie Holmquist. That is Terry Smith who recently retired from his job as special agent in charge of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's Bemidji office.
December 11, 2003 - The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have released a report stating that they have credible evidence that 33 priests working in the diocese sexually abused a total of 69 children over the last 50 years. According to the diocese, the most recent incident happened in 1988. The numbers are part of a national survey which will be released in February.
December 11, 2003 - Why MP3 players are hot this holiday season. MP3 players -- this little contraptions like the iPod that can store thousands of songs -- are selling at twice the rate compared to a year ago. Analysts say more and more people will flock to MP3 players as they look to get all those songs off their desktops, and onto portable devices. Eliot Van Buskirk is senior editor for CNET Reviews and author of Burning Down the House: Ripping, Recording, Remixing, and More. He says today's MP3 players are giving consumers more for their money.
December 9, 2003 - The University of Minnesota is moving forward with plans to build a new football stadium without the help of T. Denny Stanford. Stanford had pledged to contribute 35 million dollars of the cost, but negotiations with him fell apart. Meanwhile, Governor Tim Pawlenty's Stadium Steering Committee meets for the first time today. The governor formed the committee to evaluate stadium proposals for the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. MPR Sports Commentator and Star Tribune writer Jay Weiner has followed the stadium debate for years and he joins us this morning with an update.
December 9, 2003 - South Dakota will hold a special election on June First to fill the seat of Congressman Bill Janklow. Janklow announced that he will resign his seat effective January 20th. That is the day he is scheduled to be sentenced for Second Degree Manslaughter. Yesterday, a jury found him guilty of that charge and three others in connection with a traffic accident that killed mototcyclist Randy Scott. Bill Richardson is the chair of the University of South Dakota Political Science department and he has followed Janklow's career.