June 10, 2003 -
June 9, 2003 - Public health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported the Western hemisphere's first outbreak of monkeypox among humans. At least thirty-three possible cases have been reported, the majority of them in Wisconsin. All of those with confirmed cases of the disease are believed to have come in contact with infected pet prairie dogs. Minnesota State Epidemiologist Dr. Harry Hull says the monkeypox outbreak in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana highlights the health threats wild animals can pose. Hull says he expects the number of confirmed cases to rise as more human and animal samples are tested, but says the disease isn't extremely contagious.
June 9, 2003 -
June 6, 2003 -
June 5, 2003 - A growing number of Americans are turning to gastric bypass surgery to help them lose weight and improve their long-term health. In the next installment of our series, "The Fight Against Fat," Minnesota Public Radio's Nikki Tundel talks to a Saint Paul woman who had the operation a year ago. She found losing half her body weight altered much more than her waistline.
June 5, 2003 -
June 3, 2003 -
June 2, 2003 - Minnesota legislators last week passed a bill authorizing the state to borrow to help pay for a variety of construction projects. The bill includes dozens of projects from flood relief in Roseau to a new Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Three-million dollars in bonding for a new planetarium was proposed, but didn't make it into the final bill. Bob Bonadurer is the director of the Minneapolis Planetarium. He says the legislature's decision will not stop the planetarium's efforts to secure a new home. Bonadurer says he will spend the next year trying to build more support for the center.
May 30, 2003 -
May 29, 2003 - A new law requires students at Minnesota public schools to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at least once a week. Governor Pawlenty signed the legislation on Monday. He says the law will help instill American values in the state's children.