February 18, 1999 - As Eric reported Artspace, the organization that's adopted the Shubert theater must raise twenty to thirty million dollars to re-open the theatre. If they can't do it, the theater will be torn down. Wendy Holmes-Nelson of Artspace says the heavy-duty fundraising will start this spring.
February 17, 1999 - Tobacco companies are confirming the presence of cadmium, ammonia, lead, formeldehyde, and arsenic in most cigarettes. In compliance with a new Minnesota law, 65 companies have filed information with the state health department on over seven-hundred brands of cigarettes. The vast majority contain at least trace amounts of these toxic substances in their lit cigarettes. Health researchers say its well-known that cigarettes contain harmful chemicals. Dr. Harry Lando, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, says the public disclosure may just make some smokers more aware of what they're inhaling.
February 16, 1999 - Under most circumstances, weapons are banned in state buildings. But the governor obtained the permission to carry a concealed weapon at the capitol from Charlie Weaver, the commissioner of public safety. Republican Senator Gary Laidig is critical of that decision and has asked for a legislative hearing this Friday to look into the matter. We invited Laidig and Commissioner Weaver into our studios to discuss the Governor's safety. Laidig says he supports gun rights, but not at the state capitol, where school children frequently fill the corridors.
February 10, 1999 - Governor Ventura had a more peaceful conversation today with Fred Grandy about welfare. Grandy is the head of Goodwill Industries International. The former Republican Congressman from Iowa now oversees a charity that serves two-hundred thousand people each year. Half of them are moving from welfare to work. Governor Ventura has been relatively silent about his views on welfare reform, and Grandy says that's exactly why he wanted meet with him.
February 9, 1999 - Today at Central High School in St. Paul, the teachers who were willing to talk on tape said they generally liked the profile of learning. Marty Hawthorn is a Math Teacher at Central who does not want to go back to what he sees as an outdated, rigid emphasis on basic skills. Hawthorn has used many of the Profile's so-called "performance packages" in his classroom. In one project his students used their math skills to put together a budget for an archaelogical dig. They also measured shards of pottery and used mathmatical formulas to figure out the size of the original objects. Hawthorn says the Profile of Learning has improved math teaching.
February 8, 1999 - South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu brought his message of peace and forgiveness to Minneapolis today. Tutu won the nobel peace prize in 1984 for his efforts to end Apartheid. In 1995, he chaired South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Comission, the panel which worked to bring justice to those who suffered under apartheid. Today in Minneapolis , the Archbishop told an audience at Westminster Presbyterian Church what the truth and reconciliation hearings revealed about human nature.
February 4, 1999 - Folks in Devil's Lake North Dakota read in their morning paper that they'd be part of a space experiment today. The Mir space station was planning to shine a mirror on them at 7:30 tonight and illuminate the town. Space officials hoped the operation would prove it is possible to use to moon to give extra light to sun-starved cities. But the experiment hit a snag when the mirror got caught on the cargo ship's antenna. Fred Bott is the Mayor of Devil's lake. We asked him how it felt to find out he'd be part of an experiment, and then NOT.
February 3, 1999 -
February 3, 1999 - Minnesota Republican Senator Rod Grams wants to rename the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in honor of a prominent Democrat. Today, Grams introduced a bill to rename the BWCA the Hubert H. Humphrey Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Grams says doing so would honor the late Vice President.
January 29, 1999 - Also on Midmorning today, Governor Ventura talked more about his decision to apply for a concealed weapons permit. MPR's Kathryn Lanpher asked the governor why he feels he needs to carry a gun.