June 10, 1998 - A Minnesota man who tried to climb Mt. McKinley last week and ended up three thousand feet short of the summit says he'll be back. Mountain climbers tend to be obsessive, and Ed Hommer is no exception. Only he's doing it with two artificial limbs. Hommer lost the lower part of both legs seventeen years ago after a plane crash on McKinley left him trapped for five days in a storm. Hommer says it was good to return to the mountain under different circumstances: Mountain climber and pilot Ed Hommer lives north of Duluth on Fish Lake. We reached him in outside Anchorage where he's spending some time unwinding from his climb by fishing. He's planning to climb Mt. McKinley
June 10, 1998 - Representatives from Northwest pilots union met face to face with the company for the first time since contract talks broke off at the end of May. A federal mediator ordered both sides to the bargaining table in Washington D.C. today to begin three days of talks. The contract disagreement has become very public of late, with the company taking out ads criticizing the pilots for rejecting their offer. The pilots are asking for forteen percent raises the first year, and five percent annual raises thereafter. Steve Flanagan is a Northwest pilot who wears a union cap as well. He says the negotiations are playing a large role in his personal life.
June 8, 1998 - Norwest has been a major player in Minnesota's philanthropic scene. It's second to Dayton-Hudson in corporate giving. The head of Norwest's foundation says that tradition will continue. Jackie Reis is the president of the Minnesota Council on Foundations based in Minneapolis. Sun 28-MAY 10:39:15 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
June 5, 1998 - St. Paul will kick off the summer party season this Sunday with the annual Grand Old Day. The street festival is the largest one-day festival in the upper midwest and includes a parade, a race, multiple concert stages and all the food booths one could wish for. The event started 25 years ago when some Grand Avenue merchants came up with the idea of hosting a party to bring more people to their stores. Billie Young was a shopkeeper at the time. She's since sold the store and written a book about the street called "Grand Avenue: The Renaissance of an Urban Street." Young says the event had a modest beginning: Billie Young is the author of "Grand Avenue: The Renaissance of an
June 2, 1998 - There are still some seventy-thousand people in the metro area without power after Saturday night's storm. That's down from nearly half a million in the immediate aftermath of the storm, but for those still without power, NSP is now estimating it could be near the end of the week before they're back on line. Gerry Larson is the General Manager of Electric Delivery for NSP: Gerry Larson is with NSP. Three Minneapolis public schools that lost power in the storm will
June 2, 1998 - The United States Supreme Court has handed Native American tribes a major legal victory. The high court refused to hear two cases against Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, upholding earlier rulings that found the casino couldn't be sued in state court. Steve Thorn is a Minneapolis attorney whose firm represents Indian tribes. He says the ruling affirms the sovereign immunity of tribes: Steve Thorn is an attorney with Jacobson, Buffalo, Schoessler & Magnuson, a Minneapolis firm that represents Indian tribes. Sun 28-MAY 11:01:03 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
June 1, 1998 - The American Association of Retired Persons' national conference gets underway in Minneapolis tomorrow. The three-day convention is expected to draw some twenty thousand seniors and there's a special focus on baby-boomers this year.
June 1, 1998 - The American Association of Retired Persons' national conference gets underway in Minneapolis tomorrow. The three-day convention is expected to draw some twenty thousand seniors and there's a special focus on baby-boomers this year. For most of us, our first contact with AARP comes about six months before our fiftieth birthday. Commentator Susan Vass explains: Comedian Susan Vass lives in Maplewood. Her next show is a benefit at the Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul Sunday June 14th. "Get High-High-High with Laugher" celebrates 18 years in the comedy business.
May 29, 1998 - The Minnesota Zoo is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend. The "new zoo," as some of us still call it, stretches over five hundred acres in Apple Valley, and now boasts over twenty-thee hundred animals, over a hundred of which are endangered species. Jim Streeter is the Zoo's conservation manager. He says protecting these endangered species is a vital part of the zoo's mission: Jim Streeter is the conservation manager for the Minnesota Zoo which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend. There are a number of events for families going on this weekend, including a special exhibit featuring fr
May 26, 1998 - Four tenth graders at a St. Cloud High school were suspended today for allegedly making death threats against students, staff, and teachers. Ed Johnson, Principal at Technical Senior High School, says three of the boys posted a so-called "kill list" of potential targets on the internet. A fourth student allegedy made threats against students and teachers while in a school cafeteria. There have been similar incidents at other Minnesota schools recently, and after last week's shooting in Springfield Oregon, schools aren't taking any chances with threats like these. Worried principals have been calling Robert Schmidt all day today. Schmidt heads the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals: