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By Tom Robertson, MPR News 91.3 FM DETROIT LAKES – The heavy snow that fell on parts of central Minnesota over the weekend may be too late to help relieve widespread drought.
By Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio News ST. PAUL – Lakes and rivers that cannot sustain wild rice beds due to pollution will be added to a list compiled by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
By Tim Pugmire, MPR News 91.3 FM ST. PAUL, Minn. — A major overhaul of state tax policy could be in the works next year when the newly elected DFL Legislature arrives at the Capitol.
By Elizabeth Dunbar MPR News 91.3 FM ST. PAUL – Amy Smith takes her health seriously, so when her employer offered discounts on health insurance premiums if she took steps to become healthier, she jumped at the opportunity. “I was excited about having the money off, and I definitely needed to have some structure to my weight loss efforts,” said Smith, an administrative assistant for the University of Minnesota Press.
By Dan Gunderson MPR News 91.3 FM GRAND FORKS, N.D. – In the first effort of its kind in the nation, a University of North Dakota research committee will examine the ethics of using unmanned aircraft. UND has one of the nation’s most comprehensive research programs to develop unmanned aerial technology. University researchers are working with the Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Department to determine how small unmanned aircraft could help law enforcement personnel, efforts that could be challenged in court by groups concerned about police violations of privacy.
By Alex Friedrich MPR News 91.3FM ST. PAUL – If there’s one thing Minnesota employers have told state educators they want in today’s graduates, it’s this: The ability to start working quickly. But employers say they can’t find enough workers who have the skills to do so. As part of a budget request to the Legislature, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System requested $33 million in the next two-year state budget to help make students ready to work, money that would be matched by Minnesota businesses.
By Lorna Benson MPR News 91.3 FM ROCHESTER – When many people think of truck drivers and their lifestyle, they likely envision someone who sits a lot, eats loads of unhealthy food and consumes too many soft drinks.
By Tim Pugmire MPR News 91.3FM St. PauL, Minn. — As Democrats prepare to take control of the Minnesota Legislature, interest groups have started lining up with funding wish lists for the 2013 session. A coalition of groups, for example, came to the state capitol this week to warn of a looming crisis for elderly caregivers, if lawmakers don’t come through with an increase state funding.
By Tom Robertson MPR News 91.3FM Bemidji, Minn. — There may be hope for the shuttered Ainsworth lumber mill in Grand Rapids, which closed three years ago, a victim of the housing market crash and the Great Recession. The J.M. Longyear company of Marquette, Mich., has signed a purchase agreement for the 120-acre site, and will take control of the mill in 2014. Company officials have been tight-lipped about their intentions, but some wood and timber experts predict it could become part of an emerging bioenergy industry.
By Julie Siplem MPR News 91.3 FM