NewsNight Minnesota; 6126; NewsNight Minnesota Episode from 04/07/1999; SD-Base

NEWSNIGHT Minnesota is a production of Katie see old weapon stations of Minnesota Public Television. Lulu and Kim here for NEWSNIGHT. Probably a good show tonight. We're looking at the state of protesting do 60 styles of protest work in the 90s and what to make of pies and vandalism close to folks in some country have themselves a new deal. And Marilyn Hammer has a puppy start up the snowmobile studs. Plus our own just amazement introduces us to the lucky legs for the WNBA is Kristen focal. Get comfortable all. Minnesota is made possible in part with support from the Blanton Foundation creating a stronger Minnesota by bridging rural and urban communities. The Nick Knight Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life for Minnesota families and by leave a legacy of Minnesota helping people continue what's important to them through charitable gifts in their states.

All right we'll start with the headlines not all necessarily bad for researchers at the University of Minnesota. On Monday protesters broke into several labs destroying equipment records then releasing several laboratory animals. However last night they you was able to recover at least some of the pigeons. They were found in a field out in Woodbury protestors have argued they released these animals to give them a better life. Actually that is. I mean as you can see they are all white. They're very visible at night and if you're if you're an eagle or any other predator you would be able to spot these a mile and a half away. And there is no way for them to survive by setting these guys free out in the woods like they did is basically giving them their wish. And today Governor Ventura had this to say about the vandalism at the university. Made a huge mistake and they vandalize something that had nothing to do with what their

cause was. And I think it's just another example of you know people demonstrating is fine and dandy that's what our country is based upon. And we all have the right to do that. But Sam the lies again terrorism is not a right in this country. And I heard that they cost two million dollars worth of damage. I think that this particular group should be held accountable to pay back that two million dollars. Then we're going to hear more from the university and we're going to talk about protests in general are they really what they used to be that will be later in the program. Minnesota has maybe derailing Governor Ventura's plans for light rail transit saying it will end up costing too much. A key House panel is not likely to include the 60 million dollars than Torah and that council chair Ted Mondale wants for the Hiawatha corridor line. NEWSNIGHT from early Hammer has the roundup of the day's events at the Capitol. Governor Ventura got a chance to come outside and enjoy the beautiful spring weather today out on the Capitol steps here from the girls choir. But after the photo opportunity the

governor sounded off about the setback for light rail funding in the house. To my knowledge there's about a quarter of a million Minnesota dollars that will probably end up in St. Louis if that prevails. But that you know for them I guess it's more important to party caucus than the people of Minnesota. The governor says the House's actions would put federal transportation funds in jeopardy. But the governor says that's no surprise to him since House Republicans are the ones who supported it. Income tax rebate that would be subject to federal taxes. And another issue up here at the Capitol when the governor and lawmakers signed into law the repeal of the snowmobile stud ban. They also repealed the $50 sticker that snowmobiling. Prior to purchase this winter if they use studs today a Senate committee debated lowering that sticker fee to $10 for Minnesota residents only. Why should we penalize. People in this state. And let so many folks from your.

Free just to hassle other states go and do it it's just a hassle. We lost. I have no idea how many hundreds of thousands of dollars last year because of the $50 fee now are going to say to $10 fee it's going to go right back where they got it we've got a horrendous job already trying to undo the damage that we've done. A $10 fee is this enough to cover the damage that you're seeing. We don't believe that $10 it's enough to cover the damage there's 200 miles of state trails that allow Smallville use on them. We think that over time with the continued use of. It will start in Minnesota. There are all those 20 valves will have to be repaired that will last three million dollars. A similar bill calling for a snowmobile sticker fee of $10 is making its way through the house. At the Capitol I marry my hammer for Newsnight Minnesota. Tomorrow mass transit will take center stage at the Capitol. Governor Ventura will ride the bus to and from work to highlight transportation issues. St. Paul's School Board faces a lawsuit from a group of parents. The Capitol Hill Magnet School in St. Paul open the school

year with 25 open spots in the first grade but 50 students on the waiting list. The rub School officials say that if the waiting list students all of whom are cark Asian had been enrolled they would have thrown off the racial balance of the school. Right now school state desegregation rules rather say that schools should if possible reflect the diversity of their district. The St. Paul School District is 40 percent white allowing the waiting list students in would have made the Capitol Hill school 75 percent white. A proposed plan to restore the walleye population of Red Lake will move forward this Friday. State and Federal and tribal officials are expected to sign an agreement that includes a moratorium on fishing for walleyes. The agreement also calls for Red Lake to be restocked with about 45 million walleye fry each year for several years. Starting this spring walleye and Red Lake have been all been but eliminated by overfishing especially by commercial netting by members of the Red Lake band of Chippewa. The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will pay most of the costs of the restocking program.

Meanwhile the state legislature is considering establishing a loan program to help tourism related businesses and ventilate survive until the walleye recover. And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has endorsed the building an eight million dollar harbor of refuge on Lake Superior is North Shore just past the Duluth city limits. The McQuaid road safe harbor project supported by sport anglers who say it's needed to provide shelter from Lake Superior has sudden storms. Now opponents know that nearby harvest already exists in Duluth and Knife River funding for the project is being sought from both the state and federal governments and those are the headlines. Thanks Lou how would you like to have your place spruced up and your rent cut in half. Sounds too good to be true well not if your Sun Country Airlines cry for more competition at the international airport has been allowed and it looks like it's been heard. The Metropolitan Airports Commission has cut a deal with the airline to improve the Humphrey terminal and drop their annual rent from two point eight million dollars to 1.4

million. Now we think we know what our next guest reaction to that news is but we invited them down anyway to talk details Tom Schmidt is senior vice president of operations for Sun Country. The way I understand it is that you were being charged double at the Humphrey terminal for Gates. Then what other airlines were being charged at the main terminal for Gates Is that right. That's right Ken. Over the last couple years our fees have increasing efficiently at the Humphrey and as a result of these negotiations we will now be paying rates that are commensurate with what airlines pay and how come you were paying double to begin with. Well that's a good question for the for the Metropole Airports Commission we asked the same question. Basically they were charging all the fees for the Humphrey terminal to the carriers who remained there in country being the predominant tenant. Experienced a dramatic increase in rates over the last couple years. OK let's talk about what the deal means OK obviously the rent cut that's going to cut down some operational costs but you also get control of the gates. How important is that.

Very important for an airline to set a schedule you've got to know that you have the facilities both good facilities ticket counter facilities and baggage facilities to be able to deliver on that on that schedule or the previous arrangement we had no control over any of the gates where basically our schedule is thrown into the hopper with the other charter carriers both seasonal and fact they're all seasonal carriers. And so we had to wait till the Metropolitan Airports Commission kind of build out the gates which could lead to a considerable amount of time so it's very difficult to set a schedule. There were several times in the past where some countries started to establish some sort of regular service not just charter service and you're going to do that again in June. So yes important. Well this is the first time that we're actually going to operate scheduled service in the past we've tried some regular routes but always as a charter carrier. OK. Let's talk about the $450000 in immediate improvements to the terminal. There's going to be a new home for terminal it's going to cost 50 million some odd dollars. Could be a couple of years. What about mediately what's going to happen look your facility has basically been in its current condition for about the last eight or nine years and it's with just three gates and human traffic that goes through there it's

dramatically overcapacity So what we have asked the Metropolitan Airports Commission to do and they've agreed to spend four hundred fifty thousand dollars just to spruce it up make some of the improvements temperaments carpets paint what all of the above improve improve the check in for example at the at the. When you drive up in terms of the curbside check in all the improvements to the interior of the facility basically try to expedite the flow control in the in the facility as well. We've got about a minutes ago some country is going to start the regular service in June. And I posed this to your boss a couple months ago when we talked to him What other small airlines start to expand. Often it so seems that they expand to a point where they then start to implode. How Sun Country going to avoid the mistakes of other smaller airlines which expand do OK for a few years and then fall apart. Basically we're going to expand as we see success in the current schedule the June 1st schedule. And as

that improves we will add capacity and also into frequency so that we don't expand too quickly and have our eyes too big for first a mix so to speak already would be fun to watch. Great. Thank you a lot. All right in this day of lawsuits and lawyers and appeals and Supreme Court rulings one would

say that continues to be the best way to get things done in this country. Or is it. Over the past several weeks there have been some disturbing events in the Twin Cities and it's all about small groups of people trying something different to get the rest of us to change our ways. The governor and a state senator have been the targets of pie throwing incidents. The University of Minnesota the subject of that incident on Monday Highway 55 protesters were virtually locked and fastened to every object in sight up until a few weeks ago at least until the cops came in and forced everybody out. So does it work. Is it working. Modern day protests. Are these acts of civil disobedience or are we talking about criminal acts. We'll tackle the situation at the U of M DR ROLAND Gunter says that release of animals and the destruction of their equipment isn't making them change the way they do business. You know we pride ourselves on the humane care we give the animals we follow all the laws all the regulations we have in Hatteras or university regulations which are more stringent than the federal or state regulations. We

you know we're not going to change that. So where do we stand with protests we've invited some of this area's most veteran protesters down to Studio B to talk about it. Vernon Bellecourt made a national name for himself with the American Indian Movement and now works with the coalition against racism in sports. Sister Rita Stein Hagan recently spent six months in federal prison for trespassing the US Army of the Americas in Georgia and Freeman Wycliff is that Freeman Whitman is executive director of the Animal Liberation league. Now this is not to be confused with the Animal Liberation Front which has claimed responsibility for the vandalism at the U of M Thank you all for coming down. I haven't talked to you before now but I get the sense that all of you totally hated those pie throwing incidents is that true. Well obviously it set us back somewhat and that was a critical time when we wanted to get the chair of the powerful Transportation Committee to hear the Highway 55 resolution. So it set us back but we're hoping that Senator Flynn

will rise above that and take the high road and on the basis of the merit of the case decide. All right now on the other end of that I would think some protesters would say we threw the pies. And these are two separate incidents one is 35 you know the one about the arts program. But they would say we got the blurb on the Six O'Clock News. We got some columns in the newspaper. Not bad for two seconds of work. Well it's regrettable that people have to resort to that type of activity in order to get the attention. However we've certainly had a lot of positive publicity given to the Highway 55 project and people are beginning to want beginning to realize that it's literally thousands of people that are opposed to the Highway 55 reroute you know it's really well I believe certainly in protesting but I do not believe in personal attacks on people. There is a difference. I think you have to do something sometime to get attention if you do your cause. But I'm never against anything violence to people.

And is that the fine line that seems to want to ask when there's a protest across that line. Well I think the problem with nonviolent activists are that are the problem with nonviolent action is that it's harder to express to activists. It's a long term approach. It takes time it takes a lot of persistence and these sort of two second protests which get a lot of media coverage may be seen for a quick results but they don't help in the long run. And so it's hard to sell that nonviolent angle. I think what is important for all activists to do is make sure that whenever they do an action ask themself am I being respectful to all involved. Am I being open and honest and am I willing to be accountable for my actions. I don't can stone went out several weeks ago to one of those camps where they teach protesters how to be protesters. And do you think in a way perhaps they're being too scientific in the way they're almost trying to control everything and this is not the way

this is not the way you start out you go to a school to learn how to protest. You know I mean of course after an old 500 year experience here in America it hasn't been too good. We realized in the late 60s early 70s we actually had to engage in what we called at that time. Confrontational politics. And there's nothing wrong with that word. We still do that from time to time but I think that we also have to walk two paths we have to take a look at the courts the federal courts as was the case with the 1837 treaty. Certainly we were hopeful that the Supreme Court would rule in our favor. They did. However the last twenty six decisions have been negative toward drives across the country. So while we in the past 10 25 years we have built institutions in many out there is the heart of their survival school the American Indian OIC employment job training center. Many other community institutions so it takes two it takes going through the courts it takes political confrontation

sometimes. But you also have to build. Institutions that serve the community. All right. And the other in the in the you think some of the protest groups are too methodical in which they try to teach how to call the media how to work the fact machines how to handle the websites to the point that the smarter they get folks media are getting smarter too and it's going to protesters again so everybody is raising the bar on what it takes to get attention. Well unfortunately little teaser get attention here when I came back when I got my prison sentence. People have died when I was just a year ago and I was in prison a year ago yes today I'm going on our March 23rd. But when I came back someone from the television said you know why do you do this stuff you know why do you do this. And I said to them well you wouldn't be here today talking to me unless I was going to prison. Unfortunately that was our last resort in a sense. We've been down there for years. We've written called and sat on the steps and faxed in brought on books and whatever. And I could've sat on those steps down there in Washington for three years.

You know but you wouldn't I would be here sitting telling you about sitting on the steps and watching it for three years. So I think I think that's the power of civil disobedience is the self-sacrifice that the activists are willing to endure. And that's what brings a sense of urgency to the issue and make it so that it becomes part of the public agenda. And people have to confront it and possibly re-evaluate their own position on it. The protests themselves though are never a popularity contest are because I know during the Vietnam War most people were saying the old folks then were saying get a job go to school and get out of here you hippies get out you know get lost. And now a lot of those folks watching they were taking part in some of the protests you know watching stuff now saying get a job you know give me a break. Well I you know I participated in two of the last large anti Vietnam war. Protest in Washington of course I'm aging myself in saying that however we see that today with the war in Kosovo we see a handful of people in the streets and obviously it's going to

take tens of thousands again to build be a viable anti-war movement. So. You know we learned from the Vietnam era and how to how to get the attention of not only the media but the politicians. So it was quite an experience and today. As I said we're we're taking several paths in order to achieve a certain goal. Do you blame media though and sometimes you see a protest maybe you'll watch it on the news and not be a part of it and you'll see reporters go off into the other angle of. The street sign got knocked down and they're doing a whole story on this more street sign to get it down and then the message itself is just a footnote to the story. By the way they are protesting something to do with you know snakes or something. That's why I think the training camps are important where people learn nonviolent skills they learn how to handle confrontation. They learn how to handle their own emotions so that there aren't these sort of outbursts from the protesters at least. And so that if there is violence from the police the protesters have other options besides

retaliating in violence. And you feel it's still necessary today because when you think of websites that I mean I was reading something the other day about some of these race hate groups who are using the websites effectively. And you have many ways to communicate that you didn't have 20 30 years ago. No I believe that in a large numbers of people are still important. And the more that you know out there. I don't know there anyway how well how or how are they going to know that there's this number of people who are against something or wish they would change it. You know I think it's going to be the large number of people. And the like. Like the gentleman said we get nonviolence training. That whatever they do it's respectful and it has been always respectful going to school of the Americas. We were treated with respect by the police and we also were very respectful to them. But speaking of violence. There's a lot of violence in this country. And I think it's of violence when our government can't put in twenty five peaceful people in

prison for six months. It's a misdemeanor. It's not even a we're not even felons. It's not a felony. So what's going on in this country when people say to our government please stop funding foreign soldiers were paying over 20 million dollars a year. Why should we pay to fund those soldiers. There are many other places make good use of money and we did it peacefully and prayerfully and they go up and put us in prison for six months. So do you feel like if nothing is changed right away do you feel like you failed. No no no no it's always a long haul. Well sometimes you would you get frustrated want to tear it up give an example of that real briefly. But two weeks ago when Bill Clinton was in Guatemala City he mentioned that the United States had been involved in supporting these brutal governments which claimed the lives of 200000 people a hundred fifty thousand people in the last 15 years. And he dismisses it by saying it's wrong. Well of course it's wrong it's wrong as any kind

of war crimes that are being committed in Kosovo and the American media a lot of times and the politicians will focus on Kosovo as human rights violations and war crimes. But what involvement does the United States and various politicians and CIA station chiefs have had in this terrible holocaust in Guatemala. OK so a lot of times I think that the media has to start taking a look at what the United States government is doing in Central America through the school of America where this woman and others went to prison for six months because they were committed to stop what is going on with our tax dollars. All right Freeman before we go to I'm sorry I have got 15 seconds in your final bit of advice for protesters and once there is a beat to it. Again I think follow the principles of Gandhian nonviolence which is be open respectful and willing to accept the consequences of your actions. So sorry for all of this I want to say thank you very very much. Thank you. The Cleveland rockers the Sacramento Monarchs the

Charlotte sting haven't heard of them. Their teams in the women's professional basketball league the WNBA the teams will become familiar to Minnesota basketball fans this summer when the Minnesota Lynx. Yes that's the Minnesota Lynx begin their inaugural season before yesterday's expansion draft the Lynx roster featured just one player. Kristen focal NEWSNIGHT is just a moment caught up with her at the Y in Minneapolis. The WNBA is only two years old but they got. Here in Minneapolis. Kristen has a lot more than basketball on her mind these days. She's showing kids how to stay fit. As the first and only member of the links for several months she has taken on the brunt of PR and community work for the team. It's not exactly what she expected. It's been a challenge and I have been busy but it's been really fun and it's neat to see the

other side of sports all my life I've seen is the court practice and to see what goes on and how things work and how the whole package is put together is pretty cool. Her Path to the WNBA was similar to that of many NBA players. She starred in her high school volleyball and basketball teams and was a two sport all-American at Stanford. But unlike her male counterparts local did not grow up dreaming of playing pro basketball. I really didn't look to a lot of sports stars. It was primarily my parents. I really like how they live their life and what they do and that's who I tried to model myself after. But I never thought that products would take me so far. Locals been in Minnesota since February playing and working out by herself and trying to work out it's difficult being the only player right now and there is a trainer that I work with with strength and conditioning as far as playing goes. It's difficult because there's. No other team members and I found myself from my local has yet to play in a pro game but some kids already have a new favorite.

Are you going to watch Kristen once a Klansman going somewhere I guess. You know everybody has different places they look to for role models and I think this is one more source for a lot of kids not just girls to look up to and say oh look here are these people who are doing what they love trying to do well and they reach out to the community. Link's picked up four new players in Tuesday's expansion draft a college draft later this month and open tryouts and they will fill out the roster. Minnesota Lynx play the Detroit Shock in their home opener June 12th at the Target Center though Minnesota that's all we have time for tonight. Plenty more tomorrow including some live music something to do with alternative country. Minnesota is made possible in part with support from the blending Foundation creating a stronger

Minnesota by bridging rural and urban communities. The McKnight foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life for Minnesota families and by Leave a Legacy Minnesota helping people continue what's important to them through charitable gifts in their states.