December 13, 2000 - The Saint Paul city council left most of the city's $44 million reserve fund untouched as it completed work on the 2001 budget today (Wednesday). In doing so, the council rejected mayor Norm Coleman's proposal to refund money to citizens in a one-time buy-down of their heating bills this winter. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports...
December 5, 2000 - When an attempted drug sting by Minneapolis police ended in a fatal shooting in Saint Paul last month, the event raised questions about a part of the capital city that's seen a number of changes in recent years. Charitable groups have long provided services to the poor on or near seventh street at the western end of downtown. Now, that area is also home to attractions -- such as the Minnesota Children's Museum and Saint Paul's new hockey arena -- that draw visitors to a refurbished business district. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports on the sometimes uneasy coexistence of the area's inhabitants...
December 5, 2000 - Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says he expects to be suspended by the National Basketball Association within the next few days, even though a hearing on his rule-breaking contract agreement with Joe Smith is scheduled for a week from today (Tues). Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports...
November 28, 2000 - Saint Paul mayor Norm Coleman's weekend announcement that he will not seek re-election raised expectations that he'll run for governor. But Coleman's decision also changes the landscape of Saint Paul city politics. Yesterday (Mon), former city council member Bobbi Megard entered a mayor's race that is certain to become more crowded by next fall. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports...
November 17, 2000 - The victors in tomorrow's (Saturday) Minnesota - Iowa football game get more than a win in the standings. They also get the honor of hoisting a bronze statue of a pig onto their shoulders as they march off the Metrodome field. "Floyd of Rosedale" goes home with the winning team in a college football rivalry that dates back nearly a century. One of the most memorable "Floyd" showdowns occurred forty years ago, in Minnesota's last national championship season. The U of M is honoring those 1960 champions in an anniversary ceremony tomorrow. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports...
November 15, 2000 - MPR's William Wilcoxen reports on Minnesotans for Major League Baseball and New Ballpark Incorporated, two local committees looking at various aspects of the long-running ballpark discussion. The groups expect to issue reports by the end of the year.
November 8, 2000 - Minnesota's fourth Congressional district is staying in Democratic hands with Betty McCollum's victory over Republican Linda Runbeck and the Independence Party's Tom Foley. McCollum is only the second woman in state history to be elected to Congress and the first in more than forty years. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports...
October 26, 2000 - The Minnesota Timberwolves will be at Target Center tonight for their final exhibition game before the opening of basketball's regular season next week. But the team and its executives are still trying to digest yesterday's news that the Timberwolves have been hit with the harshest penalty ever imposed by the National Basketball Association. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.
October 24, 2000 - The final shoe dropped in the University of Minnesota academic fraud scandal today. But it was not as heavy as some Minnesotans feared it might be. Many of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's sanctions against the men's basketball program are adjustments in punishments the university has already imposed on itself. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports.
October 19, 2000 - Many Saint Paul residents are getting more vocal in their complaints about the odor problem emanating from the Gohper State Ethanol plant on the city's West End. Last night (Wed) the city council held a public hearing in a school near the plant. Minnesota Public Radio's William Wilcoxen reports council members heard plenty of anger from citizens living with the smell...