Tuesday, August 4, 1998

Lou Goes To Camp...

Vikings training camp, that is. Lou Harvin was in Mankato this morning watching the Vikings scrimmage with the New Orleans Saints and talking with new team owner, Red McCombs, about the year ahead and his plans for the team in the future.

Leaving...on a Jet Plane?

If you fly Northwest after August 29th, who knows when you'll be back again. We assemble a group of people in the studio to talk about the potential affects of todays IAM union vote and an ALPA strike on the Minnesota economy and air travellers.

Watson Profile

Ken Stone ventured out to meteorologist Bruce Watsons' house/weather center to see what makes a weather man tick.

Swedish Fiddlers

Rattviks Lilla Spelmanslag, a group of four Swedish fiddlers, join us live in the studio.

Plus...

Headlines from around the state, a weather update and more substantial, in-depth news than you will find anywhere else. NewsNight Minnesota...please join us.

Wednesday, August 5, 1998

For Rent

Affordable housing is an issue that affects all people in Minnesota, especially low-income families. Saving our existing low-income housing stock, replacing demolished units and creating more affordable housing are challenges. Tonight, Lou Harvin files a report on the attempts and failures on the part of Minneapolis and Hopkins to create more affordable housing. Then, a discussion in-studio with a private land developer, a Minneapolis City Council member and an affordable housing advocate.

Secondhand Smoke

The Pioneer Press has discovered more documents among the papers at the tobacco depository which show the lengths to which big tobacco would go to protect their market niche. Tobacco companies paid scientists up to $10,000 to write bogus letters to newspapers and other influential publications questioning the dangers of secondhand smoke. David Hanners, a staff writer at the Pioneer Press and author of this article, joins us in-studio.

Related Link:
PioneerPlanet: "Scientists were paid to write letters" by David Hanners

Mrs Potatohead

A live excerpt from the Fringe Festival-The Mrs Potatohead Show. Not to be missed, the Pioneer Press describes the show as "wonderful stuff, sweet and sharp by turns..."

Plus...

Headlines from around the state, the weather forecast and two of the more distinguished hosts around town. NewsNight MN...please join us.

Thursday, August 6, 1998

Class Dismissed

The Saint Paul Board of Education voted last night to renew the search for a new school superintendent. The Board decided to skip both finalists and begin the search again. In the studio, Joe Nathan, Center for School Change, Mary Thornton Phillips, St Paul School Board Chair, and Elona Street-Stewart, vice chair of the Search Advisory Committee, will discuss what happened and what happens next.

The Coppage Trial

The Coppage trial came to a close yesterday and two murder convictions were handed down for the murders of five young children in a house firebombing. Here to discuss the case and the aftermath-Paul Gustafson, Star Tribune, and Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey Paulsen, the lead prosecutor in the case.

Plus...

American Express helps employees on the bus, more Koch news, Cray Research layoffs, viewer comments and a weather wrap. NewsNight Minnesota...please join us.

Monday, August 10, 1998

Merger Talks Collapse

Humana and United HealthCare have ended merger talks after the value of United stock continued to plummet. A merger of the two would have created the nation's largest publicly traded, for-profit HMO. What's next for Minnetonka-based United and the 13 million patients it serves? Tune in here to find out.

Marvin Windows Update

Months ago, NewsNight sent Lou Harvin up to Warroad to look in to a 4-year-old lawsuit against PPG Industries. Last Friday, a Magistrate ruled that PPG be granted a summary judgement and that Marvin's suit be dismissed. Will a judge agree? Are the 3,300 Marvin employees at-risk? We'll talk to Marvin Windows tonight.

Graduate Unionism

The Graduate Student Organizing Congress at the University of Minnesota has started up a drive to unionize all 3,700 graduate assistants on campus by the end of the next academic year. We'll talk to a member of GradSOC in our studio tonight about the timeline for the union drive, what to expect and the reasons for unionizing.

Plus...

Headlines from around the state, a performance by noted local actor T. Mychael Rambo and weather in a flash. NewsNight Minnesota...please join us.

Tuesday, August 11, 1998

Minnesota's Developmentally Disabled

Over thirty years ago, a father concerned about his daughter at a Minnesota institution began a twenty year legal battle, the Welsch case, which ignited the process of de-institutionalization across the state. Many Minnesotans with developmental disabilities were moved from state institutions in to community living and group home settings. How has it worked? Guests from the state, ARC and the Minnesota Disability Law Center take part in a discussion with Ken Stone.

How's it going, Joe?

Several years ago, NewsNight profiled a developmentally disabled man named Joe as he moved out of a state institution at Faribault and in to a group home. Ken Stone caught up with Joe to see how things have changed in his life since then.

Pounterkuntal

A smaller, acoustic version of Minnesota's home-grown band, Greazy Meal, appears live. Their mission...to soothe your soul.

Plus...

AMFA lures disgruntled IAM members, a welfare rights rally, Minnesota dropped from GOP national convention short-list and weather in a flash - don't blink! NewsNight Minnesota...please join us.

Wednesday, August 12, 1998

Mandatory Fees?

The Court of Appeals has ruled that University of Wisconsin students cannot be forced to pay student fees to organizations they don't believe in-politically or otherwise. The University of Minnesota is in the midst of such a case right now...one brought by students who complained about three specific campus groups their money went to...does this decision alter the U's case? Mark Rotenberg, General Counsel for the U of MN, and Jordan Lorence, legal counsel for the students in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, will make a case of it.

Charter School Funding

Cheryl Mandala of the Humphrey Institute has just released a study which concludes that charter schools get less money per-pupil than public schools in Minnesota. That's not the way it's supposed to be...

Bayfront Blues

Live music from Duluth's Bayfront Blues Festival.

Plus...

Incest survivor art, lobbyist hearings, the biggest polluters nation-wide and weather that is short and sweet...kinda like Lou...and Ken too. NewsNight Minnesota...please join us.

Thursday, August 13, 1998

Vikings leaving Mankato?

School is starting early in Mankato next year and the Vikings training camp is starting later, meaning the Vikes might have to relocate. Sports writer Larry Fitzgerald talks to Ken Stone about what might happen.

Ming in Minneapolis

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts opens its new Asian Gallery on August 23. Get a sneak preview of the exhibit as we look at an excerpt from Ming in Minneapolis, a documentary on the collection and how it came to Minnesota. Robert Jacobsen, curator of Asian art for MIA, and Asian Studies Professor Richard Bohr join Lou Harvin in the studio.

Hot Shoe Shuffle!

Two performers from the new Ordway tap dance musical, Hot Shoe Shuffle, give Lou and Ken some tap dancing pointers and show their stuff.

Monday, August 17, 1998

A Day of Reckoning

Months of speculation, rumor and innuendo come to a head today as William Jefferson Clinton becomes the first sitting U.S. President to testify before a grand jury while he is the target of its' investigation. What did he say? Will he speak to the nation about his testimony? And what happens next? Our political science panel joins us this evening to help us sift through the facts and fallacies of l'affaire Lewinsky.

US West's New Picket Fence....

Picket lines sprouted outside US West facilities this last weekend and, while most of the company's customers aren't experiencing any inconvenience, it's certainly not business as usual for others. Augsburg College's Milda Hedblom sits down with Lou Harvin tonight to look at some of the issues involved in this most recent labor dispute.

Plus...

Headlines, Northwest's looming strike, gubernatorial candidates debate, Norm Coleman called for jury duty and our cute 'n cuddly weather forecast. NewsNight - your news, our way.

Tuesday, August 18, 1998

After the Mea Culpa

There's talk of disappointment, betrayal, indictment and impeachment in the wake of President Clinton's historic broadcast, but, all that aside, how will Ken Starr's investigation affect this year's upcoming elections? NewsNight's Mary Lahammer talks with local party officials to get a sense of the landscape for the September primaries.

Clinton, the Media and You

Everyone has a favorite scapegoat in this story: Clinton, Starr, Tripp, Lewinsky or a vast right-wing conspiracy. Some, however, target the nation's media for its' sensationalistic pandering to the American public's baser interests. Tonight we've invited three local media types - KMSP-TV's Robyne Robinson, Ruben Rosario of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the University of St. Thomas' Karen Boros - to discuss the coverage and to take live calls from viewers like you.

Plus...

Headlines, Ken Stone's look at a program for restoring prairie land, the ongoing travails of Northwest Airlines, the falling jobless rate and our version of the traditional weather forecast. NewsNight - there's a reason it's Oprah's favorite newscast. Tune in and find out for yourself.

Wednesday, August 19, 1998

Oberstar from Washington

Minnesota's Eighth District Congressman James Oberstar spoke to Ken Stone today from Washington D.C. He talked about Northwest Airlines - the labor troubles, the possibility of Clinton intervening and the 4% fare hike.

Economy Update

Sung Won Sohn of Norwest Corp. joins us to talk economics. The global economy, the U.S. economy and the MN economy - Sohn will update us across the board.

Plus...

Guns in schools, teachers set to strike in Duluth, weather in a flash and live grilling with John Schumacher. NewsNight Minnesota...please join us.

Thursday, August 20, 1998

Nursing Homes and Patient Rights

A debate is raging around the country and it concerns the use of restraints, specifically side rails, in nursing homes. In Minnesota, the Department of Health has recently stepped up enforcement and fines for nursing homes which use the side rails in cases with no specific medical necessity. Lou Harvin visited a nursing home and three guests join us live in the studio to talk about patient rights.

Skitch Henderson

Minnesota native Skitch Henderson, the first musical director of the Tonight Show, at 80. KTCA-2 airs a Skitch special hosted by Mike Wallace this weekend, we have a sneak preview.

Plus...

Bum boats, the LPGA in Minnesota, new immunization rules and weather around the state. NewsNight Minnesota...please join us.

Monday, August 24, 1998

"Morning Show" Mis-fire?

Tom Barnard and other members of KQRS' "Morning Show" have been under fire recently for remarks made on the program that the Hmong community and others have labled as racist and insensitive. A Saturday rally at the Capitol brought hundreds out into the rain to protest KQRS management. Tonight, Va-Megn Thoj of Community Action Against Racism and the Pioneer Press' Brian Lambert will join us for a look at free speech, racism and community reactions.

Who Says Commercials are Manipulative?

"Mental Engineering", a St. Paul cable access program that takes an irreverent and critical look at the methodology of modern advertising, will be featured on PBS' "Freedom Speaks" this evening. But first, host John Forde will be sitting down with Ken Stone for a one-on-one about the tricks, tools and techniques used to make viewers respond to commercials.

Plus...

Mary Lahammer with the latest on the US West strike, one woman loses her fight against Highway 55, new warnings about smoking during pregnancy and, as always, the Twin Cities' shortest and sweetest weather forecast. NewsNight - it's not your usual newscast...

Tuesday, August 25, 1998

Money Talks

Ken Stone has a one-on-one with Treasurer of the United States Mary Ellen Withrow (the one who's name is on all your bills) to talk about the recent re-designing on U.S. Currency.

Related Links:
U.S. Department of Treasury

Is There Any Getting Away From It All?

Low-paying jobs. Gangs. Disaffected teens. This is rural Minnesota? America's heartland? According to the results of a Blandin Foundation survey released today, the answer is yes. Blandin President Paul Olson joins us tonight to tell us how the information was gathered and what it tells us about our state.

Related Link:
The Blandin Foundation

Plus...

The scramble to pick up Northwest's passengers in case of a strike, the U.S.S. Des Moines strikes out again, striking up a conversation with Africa, striking a blow for bike riders and, of course, our strikingly brief weather forecast. NewsNight - has it struck YOU yet?

The Convention that Changed Presidential Politics

After the fractious and violent 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, the Democrats appointed a commission to look into questionable practices in the nomination process. Known as the McGovern-Fraser Commission, it ultimately reformed the procedures into a process that was "open, timely and representative". Now, thirty years later, we'll be joined by the chairmen of that historic commission, former presidential candidate George McGovern and former Minneapolis Mayor Don Fraser, to tell us how they managed to reform a convoluted and flawed system that had been entrenched for decades.

Who Polices the Police?

A Rochester police officer accidentally shoots a doctor. Cops with DWIs. Cops using drugs. A high-speed chase that leaves two bystanders dead. Recently, the phrase "to protect and serve" has been ringing a little hollow for some Minnesotans. Tonight, former Minneapolis Police Chief John Laux and Robert Boughton of the Minneapolis Civilian Review Board sit down with Lou Harvin to give us an inside look at what happens when the public's trust of law enforcement becomes compromised.

Los Nativos Live!

To close out tonight's show, local rap duo Los Nativos will stop by for a live performance prior to their upcoming appearance on KTCA's "Don't Believe the Hype".

Related Link:
Rhyme Sayers Entertainment

Plus...

Mesaba Air fights to stay afloat in the event of a Northwest strike, the Africa/Minnesota summit and our never imitated, never duplicated weather forecast. NewsNight - Minnesota's most unique newscast.

Thursday, August 27, 1998

NWA v. ALPA

As Friday's strike deadline looms for Northwest's pilots, a battle for public support is being waged by both sides in the newspapers and on TV and radio. Tonight, we'll be joined by representatives from both Northwest Airlines and the pilots' union to give their spin on what may end up as a public relations disaster for everyone.

What Happens to Us?

If Northwest's pilots strike, what kind of fallout can be expected? How will Minnesotans make travel plans? What of the impact on the state's economy? We'll be joined by a labor/business panel consisting of Terry Trippler, publisher of "The Airfare Report", Professor Peter Rachleff of Macalester College and the Federal Reserve's Art Rolnick to offer best- and worst-case scenarios in the event of a strike.

Ann Reed Live!

A few years back, she penned a song about the Minnesota State Fair; now, singer/songwriter Ann Reed will stop by to close out tonight's show with a live performance.

Plus....

The St. Cloud bus strike, Mary Lahammer's report on the rural gubernatorial summit, Bud Grant exonerated and, as ever, our compact weather forecast (perfect for pocket or purse). NewsNight - let's just see the other guys try this...

Northwest, Northwest, Northwest...

NewsNight's Mary Lahammer was at the airport last weekend and brings us a recap of the first hours and days of the strike. She'll also present the latest news from today, as well a glimpse at some possible futures for both Northwest and the striking pilots. Guest: Terry Trippler, publisher, "Airfare Report".

Sports, Sports, Sports...

It's a team without a coach, players, a stadium or even a name, but over 5,000 people have bought season tickets to watch them play. Lou Harvin looks at the now-official WNBA franchise that's coming to the Twin Cities. In addition to that story, we'll tell you about the newly re-opened Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth and some local boys making good with the Vikings.

Plus...

Ruben Rosario of the St. Paul Pioneer Press discusses today's article on child safety, a tentative agreement to settle the US West strike, fairgoers have words for the gubernatorial candidates and we offer up our trademark blink-and-you-miss-it weather forecast. NewsNight - it's what television is capable of.

NewsNight Minnesota is a TPT production.

[NewsNight Home] [Local Broadcast Times] [Write us!]