December 11, 2002 - Mainstreet Radio’s Cara Hetland reports on modern violin makers who want to unravel the mysteries of how the old great instruments were made. The Stradivari violins are among the most mysterious and most expensive instruments. For centuries, makers have wanted to copy the techniques used by Antonio Stradivari but they don't know how.
December 9, 2002 - The family of the late Marjorie McNeely is honoring her memory with a seven million-dollar donation to the Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul. The donation is seven times larger than the conservatory's one million dollar annual operating budget. The McNeely family runs an industrial real estate company with properties around the country. Marjorie McNeely -- who died in 1998 -- was president of the St. Paul Garden Club and a member of the original Guthrie Theater board. The conservatory will be renamed "The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park." Director Roberta Sladky says about 18 months ago the McNeely family approached the Conservatory about the gift.
November 7, 2002 - Minnesota Republicans - fresh from a near sweep in Tuesday's elections - are looking ahead to the future. But many Democrats can't seem to move beyond last week's Wellstone memorial service. The public ceremony was seen by many as a partisan political rally and has been called the spark that motivated Republican voters. Much focus has been put on Rick Kahn, Wellstone's campaign treasurer and close friend, whose speech ignited much of the controversy. Trent Gegax (GHEE-gacks) is a correspondent for Newsweek magazine. He conducted the only media interview Rick Kahn has given since the Wellstone memorial service. Gegax says Kahn is in an unfortunate, and perhaps undeserved, position.
October 18, 2002 - The Sierra Club's National Executive Director is in Minnesota to draw attention to today's 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Carl Pope says that 40 percent of America's lakes, rivers and streams still do not meet federal clean water standards and that more than 75% of the population lives within 10 miles of a polluted waterway. Pope is also in town to encourage voters to support candidates committed to protecting Minnesota's lakes, rivers and streams. He says the Clean Water Act was a milestone in the efforts to protect water in the United States:
October 14, 2002 - The first wind-monitoring tower in the metro area was erected today at Wayzata High School. The suburban school district is considering installing a wind turbine to generate its electricity and will use the monitoring tower to gather data. The Spirit Lake Community School District in northwest Iowa has been powering its schools with wind energy since 1993 and now has two turbines on its property. The school district was the second in the nation to purchase a wind turbine and the first to use the wind as its primary energy source. School Superintendent Tim Grieves says the decision to install the first turbine was a natural one:
October 1, 2002 - New research by University of Minnesota ecologist Karen Oberhauser reveals that this year's monarch population is about 30 percent below average. But the data - collected over a six-year period - also shows that the black and orange butterflies are quite resiliant. Oberhauser attributes this year's decline to three factors: