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Government

• Hiring freeze, cuts mean tough time for Hennepin County workers
  Twelve-hour days and skipped lunch breaks are no longer enough to maintain the workload for a small group of Hennepin County social workers.November 14, 2003
• Police Chief will leave St. Paul post after 12 years
  St. Paul Chief of Police William Finney has announced he'll step down when his term expires. How has the state's first black police chief changed the St. Paul Police force and does he plan to get into politics after retirement?November 7, 2003
• Coleman proposes 'rural renaissance'
  Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., has introduced a bill designed to revitalize rural communities. The Rural Renaissance Act would spend $50 billion on rural infrastructure projects in the next couple of years. Coleman says the money will help rebuild rural communities and create jobs.October 29, 2003
• Relief and regret over state workers' contract agreement
  State workers are expressing a mixture of relief and regret at a tentative two-year contract offer reached over the weekend. The agreement averts a strike, which seems welcomed by all sides. And although state officials say the deal provides fair and balanced compensation, state workers say they would like to have seen more.October 13, 2003
• Boon or boondoggle? Officials tout economic impact of Xcel Center
  Just over three years ago, the Xcel Energy Center opened in downtown St. Paul with the first ever home game of the Minnesota Wild. Critics questioned whether the 18,600-seat arena would be worth the public money that went into it. St. Paul and Minnesota Wild officials have unveiled a study they say shows the arena pumping money into the local economy. But the skeptics remain.October 7, 2003
• Cuts in state health care coverage take effect
  Changes in the state's medical insurance program for low-income Minnesotans took effect Wednesday. The changes mean fewer people are eligible for MinnesotaCare, and those who are eligible will have to pay more. Officials at hospitals such as the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis say they stand little chance of seeing additional payments from many poor patients.October 1, 2003
• Biggest county faces huge budget ax
  Counties across the state are preparing their budget plans for the coming year, and many of them face deep spending cuts. Hennepin County, the state's largest county, may need to cut as much as $100 million. The cuts will likely lead to the first layoffs in recent memory, and a dramatic change in the way social programs, probation, and other county-funded services work.September 21, 2003
• Metro highway plan set to move forward
  The Metropolitan Council is expected to sign off Wednesday on a huge Twin Cities transportation spending package. Most of the road and bridge money approved last session by Minnesota lawmakers will go towards relieving bottlenecks. However, there are questions about how some projects that were lower on the priority list ended up being the big time money winners.September 17, 2003
• Pawlenty orders National Guard to prepare in case of strike
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty has ordered the National Guard to begin training for work in nursing homes and other state care facilities in case of a state worker strike, his administration announced Monday.September 15, 2003
• A new plan for St. Cloud
  The St. Cloud City Council is considering a document that will shape the town's future -- a comprehensive city plan. Citizens and planners have been working on the issues for a couple of years, and have developed a new vision for the city.September 8, 2003
• JOBZ application deadline nears
  Building - or rebuilding - a healthy economy is a tough job, especially in rural Minnesota. This year, small towns across the state are hoping to use a new tool for economic development, provided by the legislature. Minnesota's new Job Opportunity Building Zones, or JOBZ, allows cities to offer lucrative incentives to developing businesses in the designated areas.September 4, 2003
• Minnesota resorts want state conferences again
  The summer season is over for resorts in Minnesota. In the fall, some large resorts make money by hosting conferences, often put on by state organizations. But resort owners say the conference business they've relied on for years has disappeared. Some state officials say they're afraid to hold conferences at resorts because of the perception that they're expensive, even if they're not.September 4, 2003
• Should Minnesota arts grants go to North Dakota?
  A published report is putting the Minnesota State Arts Board on the defensive. According to the report, the Arts Board gives tens of thousands of dollars in arts grants every year to North Dakota arts organizations. This at a time when Minnesota's arts funding has been cut by 30 percent. Arts Board officials say the funding benefits Minnesota artsgoers.August 28, 2003
• Public health services are hurting
  The effect of budget cuts continues to trickle down to communities across Minnesota. Public health administrators are worried about how they'll fulfill their mission with less money. They say some important prevention programs may be discarded.August 27, 2003
• A bipartisan call for drug reimportation
  Seniors packed a Bloomington retirement community chapel Monday to hear about the high cost of prescription drugs. A bipartisan group of lawmakers urged them to lobby Congress in support of allowing the reimportation of prescription drugs from other countries.August 25, 2003

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