September 4, 1998 - Vietnam's most famous dissident will arrive in Minnesata tonight to join his family. Doan Viet Hoat (Dwahn vee-ET HWAHT) was released from prison in Vietnam earlier this week, after having spent 19 of the past 21 years behind bars. Professor Hoat was an outspoken critic of his country's human rights record and won the Robert F. Kenney Human Rights Award in 1995. Hoat was among five thousand dissidents released on Vietnam's National Day on Tuesday. Mike Jendrzeczk of Human Rights Watch in Washington told Minnesota Public Radio's John Rabe Hoat's release was not motivated by altruism:
September 3, 1998 - Governor Carlson today asked President Clinton to intervene in the Northwest pilots' strike. The Governor says there's no end in sight to the walkout. A White House deputy press secretary says Clinton prefers to keep pressure on the parties to reach a settlement. The two sides are scheduled for exploratory talks in Chicago on Saturday. John Budd is a professor of industrial relations at the Carlson School of Mangement at the University of Minnesota.
September 2, 1998 - On the 5th day of the pilots strike today, Northwest Airlines laid off half its workforce. The company furloughed Mechanics, customer service employees, ground workers and flight attendants. David Cave is a 3rd year flight attendant with Northwest and a volunteer for the teamsters union. He says he fully supports the pilots' strike despite the financial hardship: David Cave is a flight attendant with Northwest Airlines and a contract action team coordinator for the Teamsters Local 2000, the flight attendants union in the Twin Cities.
September 2, 1998 - With the flight cancellations and the lay offs, it looks like mid-september is the EARLIEST travelers can expect things to be back to normal at Northwest Airlines. Camille Riggs is with Dayton's Corporate Travel in Minneapolis. When we called her this afternoon, her voicemail said "insanity has set in and we are going crazy." When we reached her later, I asked her what was going on: Camille Riggs is with Dayton's Corporate Travel in Minneapolis. Sun 28-MAY 09:03:52 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
September 1, 1998 - We're coming to the end of the minor league baseball season, with the Northern League beginning play-off games at the end of this week. The Duluth-Superior Dukes are already out of the running, meaning the season's over for professional baseball's only woman player, Ila Borders. Baseball commentator Kevin Hennessey says he's glad he and his daughter got a chance to see her play: Minnesota Public Radio baseball analyst Kevin Hennessey writes for the baseball workshop.
August 31, 1998 - The stock market took a big plunge today. Waves of selling moved through the market in the final two hours of trading. The Dow industrials average suffered its second worst point loss ever, declining 512 points or six percent. Tony Carideo is the director of Research for John G. Kinnard in Minneapolis. Sun 28-MAY 09:12:25 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
August 28, 1998 - The stock market tried to bounce back after yesterday's huge loss -- but ended up just losing more ground. After surging 78 points this morning, the Dow ended up falling 114 points in very heavy trading. The Dow lost more than 481 points for the week. Ronald Reuss is the chief economist for Piper Jaffray Inc. in Minneapolis.
June 12, 1998 - Northwest and its pilot union held a third day of federally mediated talks in Washington D.C. today. Neither side will comment yet on the outcome of those talks, but the stakes are getting higher. The pilots have already approved a strike if a mediator declares an impasse. A strike could begin 30 days later. Northwest spokesman John Austin says the company is doing everything it can to prevent a pilots' strike: Northwest spokesman John Austin. Sun 28-MAY 10:36:43 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11
June 11, 1998 - About forty percent of Minnesota's third and fifth graders are on track to pass the state's new graduation requirements. The Department of Children, Families and Learning today announced test scores for elementary students as part of Minnesotasota's graduation rule that requires periodic testing to ensure students will possess the skills to graduate. Third graders were tested on reading and math, and fifth graders had an additional section on writing. Kate Trewick, the assistant Commissioner for teaching and learning at CFL says the test results will be used as a starting point to chart progress.
June 11, 1998 - It's impossible to read the new biography of John D. Rockefeller Sr. without thinking of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. Rockefeller amassed a staggering fortune as head of Standard Oil in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Extremely controversial, Rockefeller's company was the target of a bitter--and ultimately successful-- anti-trust lawsuit. Rockefeller gave his money away in record amounts, something Gates promises to do someday. But biographer Ron Chernow wasn't convinced he should write about Rockefeller. Chernow had written biographies of business tycoons like J.P. Morgan, but he told Minnesota Public Radio's Chris Farrell he didn't initially feel an affinity for his subject: