NewsNight Minnesota; 6178; NewsNight Minnesota Episode from 07/07/1999; SD-Base

NEWSNIGHT Minnesota is a production of Katie Segal with the stations of Minnesota Public Television. I marry my hammer and Lou our friend here tonight we're going to get the latest on the cleanup efforts and the BWC day and we'll talk to one of the go for players at the center of the cheating investigation Jason asked him for talks about life after the scandal. And Congressman Jim Ramstad talks about life after addiction and Senator Paul Wellstone and Mike talk about life after the Senate well also to golf more of those right here in Studio B This is NEWSNIGHT. Minnesota made possible in part with the blinded by a stronger Minnesota by bridging rural and urban community. And by the McKnight foundation improving the quality of life for Minnesota families education and family reporting on the Minnesota is supported in part by the city hall providing Christian higher education for more than a

century. Tonight's performance in the NEWSNIGHT spotlight is supported in part by road runner transportation and am Express on the cutting edge of transportation and logistics management since 1978. OK we're going to start with the big story that's up north the clean up of that massive weekend storm that ripped through the BW CA. Now we have some video that we're going to show you in just a moment. It is an amazing sight. But first let's get the latest from Jennifer. She is an information officer with the U.S. Forest Service. Jennifer can you hear me. Yes I can tell me the official report is still that there are no four fatalities. How sure are you about that. We have not conducted a complete search of the entire area. We have done over flight. But today was the first day we were able to get ground crews onto the ground doing an actual campsite. I can't buy inventory that we've been getting from the campers that we've encountered both in the air and the sky. Actions have all been thumbs up.

Everyone's OK that we're encountering them through the grapevine camp or by camp or we have not heard of any other additional injuries or any fatalities at all related to the storm. OK now we're showing video of that area now to be that as we're talking I understand 25 million trees is that a realistic estimate at this time we're not even estimating damage as far as the resources go we're mostly concerned with that. Search and rescue and making sure we give that the attention it deserves requires. All right. Any idea on the wildlife in that area. Again we haven't begun to assess any of those sorts of impacts from the storm or really concerned with the safety of the people who were in there during the time. Those who will be going in there now and the safety of our personnel trying to investigate the area. All right and you're still allowing campers to go in. Is that correct. That is correct. NO portion of the area has been closed. Everything is open and available for visitors. All right now you're going to you're allowing chainsaws. There has been a slight modification to the normal wilderness standard and that has been done for human safety.

They're allowing aircraft to fly in a little lower and then also like mentioned the chain to help get folks out of there safely. And what about motorized vehicles. At this point there aren't any of those in that area. All right Jennifer Gray book information officer with the U.S. Forest Service in L.A. thank you so much for joining us Mary. Thanks a let's take a look at a few headlines now. The jobless rate in the Twin Cities area is the lowest in the country only one point six percent of the workforce was reported to be out of a job in May. Now that's the lowest figure of any metropolitan area with more than a million people. The statewide unemployment figure is 2 percent. That compares to a national unemployment rate of 4 percent. All that great economic news surely isn't helping farmers futures contract prices for corn and soybeans say two new lows yesterday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Corn futures were selling for less than $2 a bushel and beans were selling for $4 16 cents a bushel. Most farmers cannot make a profit at those prices. We'll go in-depth on that story tomorrow night on NEWSNIGHT.

Senator Rod Grams unveiled his plan to reduce the number of people without health insurance. Graham's plan would allow individuals who buy their own health insurance to the duck the cost from their income taxes which is what corporations are allowed to do. Now Graham says his approach is better than a Democratic plan sponsored by Senator Ted Kennedy. So. Nobody really knows. Graham says his proposal could be part of a larger Republican health care bill. You might expect Minnesota's other senator has different ideas. Mary is going to talk with Senator Paul Wellstone later on in this show. Our final headline tonight the man known as the father of open heart surgery has died in St. Paul. Dr. C. Walton a professor at the University of Minnesota performed the first successful open heart surgery more than 40 years ago. And he also helped develop the world's first battery powered pacemaker. There is no word yet on the cause of his death. He was 80 years

old. Well On Wednesdays we like to cover stories that affect children and families drug and alcohol abuse is something that affects far too many families. Congressman Jim Ramstad says he'd be dead today if he hadn't gotten help for his alcoholism. Today Congressman Randstad and corrections commissioner Cheryl Randstad boss shared their triumphs over adversity with juvenile offenders at the redwing Correctional Facility. The brother and sister team bluntly told the juveniles how they could learn from the Randstad fight back from life threatening situations. Many of the 150 juvenile offenders who call the redwing Correctional Facility home didn't think they'd have a lot in common with a congressman on Yemen on the holiday. In an instant Congressman Ramstad had the attention of the young men. I did wake up from my last alcoholic blackout in a jail cell in Sioux Falls South Dakota on July 30 first.

Nineteen eighty one and I was scared when I got a call that my only brother was in a jail cell. It was a pretty pretty big shock and a pretty big disappointment. The corrections commissioner also had a message of survival to share. Twenty years ago today a plane crash left her with a 10 percent chance to live in my own way I know what it's like to start over. I know what it's like to. Have the first day. I know what it's like to learn how to walk again. You're learning how to learn to back out world with scars. Both physically and emotionally and I suspect many of you can relate to that and many of the young offenders did relate to the accomplished brother and sister teams experience. No secrecy on the commandos to relate it to you know if you can

do it at home. If feel good you know to see somebody like that keep it you know keep a really on a real real level because a lot of people you know that have a problem. And that's that's within the community or somebody up that has higher or whatever have you want to put it you know they tend to like keep that in the closet you know have the guts to calim who's also an alcoholic took his interest in the congressman to launch change I think. Never had a child and he shared his ambitions for when he gets out. In just three weeks go get my hair cut to clean because I don't get a night. Going to try to get interview at every Riverside so to see the children there because they caught up and I want to do lectures for when I get there. You're all going to get out of here at some point in time you're all going to be in the same position I was to make choices whether to go to meetings whether to stay straight. God didn't make losers. God bless you.

Congressman Ramstad will mark 18 years of sobriety at the end of the month. He still regularly attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and he urges the juvenile offenders to keep up with their treatment programs. He is one of the four gopher basketball players who was not allowed to play in the tournament game against. This after allegations that he and other players had let Jan Gangle write their papers. But unlike the majority of basketball players he apparently will graduate from the U with a degree in electrical engineering. What's it like to live in the middle of a scandal Jason Stanford joins us. Thank you very much Jason for coming down here. When I ask you first of all people ask me I'm going to ask you what was your relationship with Jan gang. How did she help you did she help you with a term paper. Well Jan was like a tutor you know she helped me on Term papers more. As an assistant she had I wrote a paper and she more like help me with the grammar I wasn't a great grammar person in school so she

put I got to say can say put the papers together you know X structure their problem 90 percent of the work and she's proud about 10 percent of work but the work was all my all right but nothing in your mind that you would consider cheating. You know I don't know you know if any of the other players did get involved in what we commonly refer to as g o i can't really count I really don't know you know what have you and other players I know you know. Remember you know remember what I did and you know time Haskins know about any of the it's hard to say because it's a lot of things going around. It's hard to say what he knew and what he actually knew. Write to me about the schedule as a player because a lot of the emphasis has been on those of you who play basketball for you know them when you're out on the road. Are you. Practicing a lot. How much room and time is there for actual studying. Well on the road we have various activities we practice we eat we have a lot of meetings there's not a lot of time to do a lot of studying. There is some time but the time that we get

most of the players is used to rest and relax the kids catch up on some sleep. Been traveling is not easy and it takes a lot of towing and body so it's so rough. Where do you think that a lot of folks even in a situation as this was going on it. They eventually like the blank media and they started at media keep the thing going. What do you think the focus should be. Do you think it should be on the players do you think certain staff members administrators because I think it's almost a given that something is going on at the you in something does have to stop. Where do you think the focus should be. Well it's hard to say. It's the students are involved as far as the media they made as far as they made the students look as the guilty ones and it's hard to say who should get blamed for it. I mean it's hard for me to ask that question but it's kind of an equal balance I would say. Media should give equal attention to all right when some folks are talking about the bigger picture is saying that well. Maybe they should put the focus on the athletes because they have this

gravy lifestyle and folks cater to them and folks give them little Benny. Then it's no wonder that all of this happens what do you tell them. I say college life as an athlete is very difficult. A lot of people don't realize it but taken travelling and road trips you miss a lot of classes you miss a lot of homework you missed tests and a make up for these tests. Sometimes you have to schedule a later date I mean some people might call a gravy or special treatment but in order to graduate in order to keep up in class some time is necessary for us athletes just to keep up in class just to get good grades and it's hard for the people understand it but it's actually a necessity. And it may sound like I'm bouncing all over the place here but I was so glad to get you on the show because in working through the University of Minnesota we had a lot of folks at the you who tried to stop us from talking to some of you guys which we didn't appreciate. We're glad you're here. Want to ask you quickly did investigators talk you know. Yes and I did it. You know what impact this investigation or any of the

allegations will have on your degree for I know it's hard to say I really don't know. It's a possibility that they might suspend or even expel me but I really don't know what could happen. But I hopefully I think this will be taken care of and really you know people realize that it's a difference between cheating and tutoring. What are your plans now for the future. You know you want to finish up very anxious finish up I've been in school five years and hopefully in this next year I'll finish up again I'll let you engineering degree and land a job and work a nice 9 to 5 job. All right I want to know how frustrating is it to have to wait one investigation like this because we're not talking murder here. What's it like. It's something that's always going to hang over your head you know. I don't know what's going to happen any time. It could interfere with my school work. I really don't know a stable my educate you know my degree I could graduate or they could hold it up

and certainly not knowing what's going to happen. All right and quickly before we go got about 20 seconds your advice to new person coming to the ball or anything what would you tell. Well do you know work is for one. Don't just study hard. Play ball and get out of school what you came to come in to get out of. All right. Jason Stanford wish you the best. Thanks for coming down. Thank you. What. Where the. Bright.

Light. We go. Let's not let it snow let it snow. Where we're stopping. It was a Blender's And boy do they sound good well. GOVERNOR Well Stone How does that so well OK now that we have your attention our next guest is the Democratic senator from Minnesota. This summer he's been talking about farm prices health care the president's poverty tour and veterans benefits. That's plenty to talk about with Senator Paul Wellstone thank you for coming Senator. And I we should fairly since we said GOVERNOR Well when you're on all men act the other night we were toying with this idea it seems to be one of the hottest political rumors out there. You say you're open to it. What's your visual without it. When I said as I haven't followed up about it have you

thought about it since then you are not open. No not anymore not not now. OK well let's move on to the news that you made today talking about the cuts for veterans benefits and that it could mean programs cut employees fired. Talk about the breath of this. Well I mean ultimately gets down to quality of care. Without going into all the numbers there's no question but that. Veterans are not going to have the same access to specialists. They're going to be longer waits. I think I'm in particular concerned about some of the community health care clinics we have now which are really important to older veterans who can't travel from the Ranger greater Minnesota to to the V.A. Hospital in Minneapolis. They're not going to be able to expand their services. There's going to be some pretty severe cuts of staff which I think it'll make it harder for doctors and nurses and support staff to give veterans the care they deserve. So I'm very determined to get the funding I think we can win this battle. You mention the V.A. whop hospital in Minneapolis is there a particular impact in the Midwest or in Minnesota they see right now.

Well I'm actually it's interesting I have written all of the different people in the V.A. health care system a lot of them don't want their names used. They really don't and I've said to them give me in the different regions give me what's going to happen. Give me the data. And here in our region 13 which is Minnesota it's also the Dakotas Wisconsin Iowa Nebraska. Again we're going to we're going to see you know a shortfall of about 36 million dollars in the annual basis we're going to see close to 400 staff cut and we're going to see. I don't know thousands of veterans who could get the care not able to get the care. But this is not a done deal this is just in that it is the budget proposal and the president this is where it's heading right now with the appropriations bill that's what I'm doing. I'm trying to really organize it. I mean I'm really is working with veterans community around the country because very soon we're going to have a debate and a vote on the actual procreation is the money spent. And I want to make sure that that we have an adequate resources for V.A. health care. It's no way to say thanks to veterans to cut this. Isn't it true that though this is the same funding as they've received or this is received for the past three years

this necessarily isn't a cut. So how does it change services if it's not necessarily the heart of a problem I mean it's a it's a flat line budget in your in your riders same budget. But the problem is it doesn't take into account medical inflation problem is it doesn't take into account an aging veterans population with yet more health care problems. The problem is we haven't had adequate funding for some time so regardless of how you look at it you're talking about people's lives and we should do better for veterans. And this is President Clinton's proposal you're being critical of this you. You've also been a little critical of his poverty tour right now people are saying oh what's going on here is this was a president to do with Bradley in your support of Bradley are you Joe. No I don't have a presence. Well I've been a critic over the years you know not just today. This is the president's budget. But also the majority Republican majority in the house in the Senate haven't done enough either and so I'm pushing on all fronts. How about the president's poverty tour he was in South Dakota today.

It's you know it's I have different views about it I think it would be small potatoes for me to say the president shouldn't do this I'm glad that he's putting a focus on poverty that's good. And I actually know the new markets initiative Well I actually worked on this in Small Business Committee it's similar to some I've been working on to get more venture capital to small businesses that do business in low income communities. That's good. But it's far too late and over the years I haven't seen the president be a real strong fighter for poor children America we have 14 million children with our booming economy that are poor in our country. We've got five and a half million children that live in households with half the poverty level income. And I just haven't seen the president be a strong fighter for affordable child care for funding Head Start programs. And I and I have to say that we have been a strong fighter this summer about farm aid that you've said that's your number one charge that you did propose that six billion dollar amendment what's the status of that are made right now in Congress.

Well I think we'll get. I actually think we'll probably get that infusion of additional credit to farmers. Because the pressure is building the bigger problem is your report tonight about farm prices. This is really a price crisis. And so ultimately what Minnesota farmers in Minnesota are saying now I think around the country family farmers is you know we appreciate the assistance to be able to go on to next year. But what we really want to get is a decent price in the marketplace so I think this freedom to farm bill passed several years ago which I've always called freedom to fail. Does it work. I think farmers have to have some leverage in the marketplace I don't think the grain companies and the Packers can just sort of dominate and basically determine prices without family farmers get a fair shake. And quickly this is something that you going to be addressing in August what is the status do you have a date or a time set up yet for these grassroot is mainly in there is a date in August now that we see that there's going to be a lot of grassroots organizing around the country and what I'm hoping since for many farmers and for many citizens in Minnesota anyway D.C. is too far to go. I'm hoping that in about 20 states Minnesota being but one all of the reps and senators

Democrats and Republicans are going to be face to face meetings with farmers not just farmers but rural people and hopefully urban people are going to say we want you to change the ag policy so that family farmers get a fair shake. That's important to our country. One quick question. Thumbs up or thumbs down on Senator Graham's proposal today with the health insurance you can deduct from your income tax. All I want to do I think of it too I think it's more complicated I think. I mean it's good that he's talking about health care. Let me say that I think it's probably a lot more complicated than his proposal and I think there's probably a lot more that needs to be done but I don't want to do this. We won't force you to do it. I'll say Rod it's good that you're focused on. Thank you Senator appreciate it. If it's July and it's Minneapolis then it must be summer fesses Omar fest whatever you want to call it

tonight it's a kick off for the to what if anniversary celebration of the summer fest and the Celebrate Eveleen loose will play for us. Before that however we have a few questions for Aaron. Jay Kernis he won the nineteen ninety eight Pulitzer Prize for music and he is currently the Minnesota orchestra's music advisor and an artist in residence for its all more fest thank you for joining us quite impressive. Tell me highlights for this year. Well it's really exciting summer lots of young young up and coming performers some really established international stars like our Maestro Geoffrey Tate who's leading tonight's concert and a lot of wonderful star soloists. And you write a lot of the music. Well I have four pieces on this summer's World premiere next week I'm conducting and it's it's going to be really exciting and I'm a news guy so I got to mention your husband and wife team here. Yeah I've been there oh about three years just about and

those that were hurt pretty good well are in the U.S. it's great she plays my pieces from time to time I'm inspired by her in many many ways and one way is to write her some music when I want to think I want to. What are we going to hear right now. Well we're going to hear a little piece called Lullaby from a piano suite that Evelyn will be playing at the Summerfest. A week from Saturday and we do have a full screen for those of you when I come over here you take it away. Thank you. Tonight's performance in the NEWSNIGHT spotlight is supported in part by road runner transportation and

am Express on the cutting edge of transportation and logistics management since 1978. NEWSNIGHT Minnesota is made possible in part with support from the blended Foundation creating a stronger Minnesota by bridging rural and urban communities and by the McKnight foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life for Minnesota families education and family reporting on NEWSNIGHT Minnesota is supported in part by Concordia University St. Paul providing Christian higher education for more than a century.