September 5, 2002 - Dave St. Peter, vice president of business affairs with the Minnesota Twins, discusses team’s preparation for post season play as regular MLB season nears completion.
September 3, 2002 - Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum has declared the town of Ladysmith a disaster area after a tornado tore through the business district of that town yesterday afternoon. Governor McCallum will visit Ladysmith today to assess the damage. No one was killed, but over forty people were injured. Many buildings were damaged and others were completely destroyed, including a Baptist Church. Dean Meyer is the Rusk County Sheriff. He says emergency personnel are currently surveying the damage.
September 2, 2002 - MPR sports commentator and Star Tribune writer Jay Weiner comments on agreement between the players' union and the team owners, averting a Major League Baseball strike. Weiner sees the revenue sharing plan as a win for Twins owner Carl Pohlad.
September 2, 2002 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Dr. Chip Bolman about the fifty-year anniversary of first open heart surgery. The world's first successful open-heart surgery was performed at the University of Minnesota. A team led by Doctor F. John Lewis operated on a five-year-old girl who was born with a hole in her heart. The girl survived and grew up to have two kids of her own. Since then, advances in medicine and medical technology have revolutionized the treatment available to people with heart trouble.
August 16, 2002 - On Word of Mouth, MPR’s Chris Roberts provides a radio guide to the local arts. This episode includes Chamber Music Society of MN, Roman Polanski retrospective, all things Finnish folk, Christ Church Lutheran, Blood Money, and an arts round-up..
July 26, 2002 - Two Minnesota horses are being tested for West Nile virus... one in Hennepin County, the other in Clay County. The state Health Department announced earlier this week that the mosquito-borne virus has been detected in two dead crows, marking the first time it has been found in Minnesota. Horses and crows are both particularly susceptible to the West Nile virus. Dr. Randy Crom is a senior epidemiologist with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at the United States Department of Agriculture. That is Dr. Randy Crom, a senior epidemiologist with the U-S Department of Agriculture. There is more on West Nile virus on our web site, Minnesota Public Radio dot org.
July 24, 2002 - The tradition of Grain Belt beer will live on in Minnesota. August Schell (shell) Brewing Company in New Ulm has bought the brand from the bankrupt Minnesota Brewing Company. Minnesota Brewing closed last month, cutting more than 100 jobs and ending nearly 150 years of brewing tradition in St. Paul. Grain Belt was first introduced by the Minneapolis Brewing Company in 1893, and has since become one of the state's most popular homegrown beers. Jeff Lonto is the author of, "Legend of the Brewery: A Brief History of the Minneapolis Brewing Heritage."
July 22, 2002 - Some Minnesota organizations that work with immigrants are planning to file a lawsuit today, challenging new driver's license requirements. The requirements took effect earlier this month and are intended to fight terrorism. They order, among other things, that a driver's license note when an immigrant's visa will expire. Joining us on the line is Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, which will be of the plantifs in the suit. That is Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center.
July 17, 2002 - Ray Crump, former Twins equipment manager and owner of Dome Souvenirs Plus, shares his optimism of the 2002 Minnesota Twins roster. The team has a nine game lead in the division. At this time in 2001, the Twins led the division, only to see that lead disappear as they collapsed in the second-half of the season.
July 16, 2002 - Volatility in the stock markets has some Minnesotans watching their investments carefully. In a stomach-churning ride on Wall Street yesterday, the Dow Jones slid over 400 points before climbing back and finishing the day with a loss of just 45. The Nasdaq was down more than 58 points before finishing up about 9. Despite mounting evidence of an economic recovery, stocks have been sliding for about two months. Analysts largely attibute that to corporate accounting scandals that have left investors mistrustful of earnings reports. Tom Endersbe is a Senior Financial Advisor at American Express Financial Advisors, and has been taking calls from concerned investors.