carolynmunro

The Vikings won their third straight game at home versus the Detriot Lion Sunday at the Metrodome.
They were led by Tarvaris Jackson had 203 passing yards and Adrian Peterson with 116 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Pioneer Press' story was well-written and included many quotes.
It was an entertaining and informative article to read because it included several statistics from the game but also opinions and quotes from the coach and players.
The Star Tribune article was better because it told more about specific plays in the game.
It also included many more interesting quotes from varied players.
It is a lot more ancedotal and opinionated than the Pioneer Press article.
They made several comments and opinions while the Pioneer Press was pretty factual.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 4:41 PM | Permalink

The Star Tribune wrote an article about Sunday's Vikings game aganist the San Diego Chargers.
The story talked a lot about Adrian Peterson's statistics as a running back, and how he broke a record with 296 yards and three touchdowns.
They included quotes from the coach and players.
It had an ancedotal lead because it was a more light-hearted story than hard news.
They could have included more quotes from different players since they quoted Peterson twice.
The Pioneer Press also did the same story, showing Peterson as the focal point since he was the star of the game.
Their article was interesting because they included a quote from a Charger player as well which made it more well-rounded.
They also included quotes from Coach Childress and Peterson, but overall is was better written.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 4:22 PM | Permalink

Naser and Shukria Ali were faced drug charges seven months ago in Washington County for possessing khat, which is known as a illegal substance.
Investigators took a 1,000-pound collection of khat from their storage unit in Woodbury.
They also found and seized $10,000, a laptop and a sports utility vehicle.
The couple was in jail for two months, and on Sept 10, prosecutors informed them the case had been dropped because they had not committed a crime.
The khat they had did not contain any illegal substances, lab results showed.
Since khat is new in Minnesota authorities did not know the facts of its legality.
The couple is upset that they still have not recieved their items back, saying the khat is worth a half-million dollars.
I thought this article was very interesting and thorough with its details.
It was fairly long, with many quotes, but was contained interesting information that was newsworth
Some other articles I read told about what exactly khat was and its history in Minnesota specifically.
http://citypages.com/databank/18/863/article3574.asp

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 9:31 PM | Permalink

Dawn Nyberg had been working with the Hennipen County District Court for seven years and had a good reputation as a hard-working clerk.
She had recieved 73 tickets and avoided paying $5,112 in fines and fees because she used her power to expunge her records.
The 32-year-old worker was charged with swindle of public funds, forgery and misconduct of a public officer.
In June the Traffic Control Unit of the Minneapolis Police Department noticed the tickets had not been processed correctly.
They discovered that Nyberg had entered in incorrect information and erased her citations in the sysem only she and one other person had access to.
She resigned from her job ten day later on June 25.
She will appear in court on Nov. 29 where she faces a nine -year prison sentence if she receives the maximum.
Star Tribune did a good job of reporting this incident. It just seems a little because of the timing.
The reader does not discover until half-way down the article when all this occured.
Overall though they got some good quotes and sources to base it off.
I liked Pioneer Press article better because it had more of an inverted prymaid yet a different voice to it, making to more interesting to read.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 8:40 PM | Permalink

The Star Tribune reports that on Saturday Minnesota Gophers lost to the North Dakota Bison in the metrodome.
There were 63, 088 fans in attendance, many of them Bison fans, in attendance.
The Bison had many disadvantages going into the game, but came out with a victory.
They have fewer than 22 scholarship players which Minnesota has several.
They are also 0-6 aganist the Gophers.
Despite those statistics, they are No. 1 in the Football Championship Subdivision with a 7-0 record.
In contrast, the Pioneer Press reported significantly less about the game.
They featured a few statistics and highlights about the game, but did not mention nearly as much as the Star Tribune.
For the most part, the Star Tribune did a much better job with their article because they provided much more information.
The good thing about the Pioneer Press was that for the people without a lot of time to read the article, it gave a quick recap of the game, while the Star Tribune had the recap at the bottom after all the quotes from players and the coach.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 2:51 AM | Permalink

Five people were shot and killed early Sunday morning in Crandon, Wis. The article says police are still looking for the suspect.
Star Tribune used the radio station WTMJ in Crandon as one of their sources.
This source was supposed to have to some expert power because they are in the town of Crandon.
They said the suspect is believed to be a sheriff's deputy, and possibly part of the Forest County Swat Team.
Also they use the Associated press, which can be seen as a human and online source, as one of their sources.
The AP said the shooting were not confirmed by the Forest County Sheriff Department.
They quoted Forest County supervisor, Tom Vollmar, on the impact it made to the community.
This was again a human source.
Their sources were not varied because they all stemmed back to the radio station where this story was reported on.
The Pioneer Press' account also had information from the same sources, since it appears they both got the story from the Associated Press.
cnn.com story

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 7:46 PM | Permalink

Police arrested a 14-year-old girl Tuesday because she give methamphetamine to classmates at Hazel Park Middle School Academy.
The girl told police she had found it, but when police searched her house they found two grams of crystal meth.
She and seven other students were taken to a local hospital.
The girl was later released from the hospital and arrested.
It was discovered when a girl went to the school nurse saying she felt sick, anxious and scared.
She admitted she ingested the meth and was scared because she experienced side affects.
None of the other six students experienced any medical side affects.
The principal of Hazel Park Middle School Academy went on the school's television system to calm student's fears and questions.
This article written by Star Tribune was poorly written. The quotes taken from police in the article, one of which said "when she said she found it perhaps she found it at home", were unnessary, redundiant, and uninformative. They did not give us much information that wasn't already known or assumed, the exception being the principal of the school.
Pioneer Press' account of the incident was much more informative, though brief. They did include unnecessary quotes, but instead just attributed to the sources.
The sources in both articles are mostly human sources, and these are authority figures.
In the Pioneer Press article it also had the Ramsey County Attorney's Office as one source. This could have been a human or documents but it's unclear from the reference.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 4:18 PM | Permalink

Staff Sgt. Chad Malmberg was awared a Silver Star Saturday in St. Paul for his bravery in Iraq. Malmberg led in a counter-attack to insurgents who ambushed 20 trucks in January.
The surprise battle lasted nearly an hour.
Malmberg stepped out of his truck on 3 different occasions to defend the soliders and civilians in the trucks.
No one was killed and no trucks were damaged that day.
The ceremony was held at the RiverCentre with the governor, 1,000 National Guard soliders, and family members present as he received the award. The Pioneer Press tells a little about the award. It is given to soldiers who show gallantry in combat. He was the first Minnesota National Guard soldier to receive a Silver Star since World War II.
The audience would be more educated if there had been more definitions and statistics as to what exactly the Silver Star was and who received it in the past. More information about the award can be found on this website.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 2:30 AM | Permalink

AFSCME workers officially ended the 13-day strike on Friday. They were disappointed because they ended up settling for the same settlement the university had offered the first time.
This was a 2.25 percent raise for clerical and technical employees, while a 2.5 increase for health care workers.
The strike put strain on indviuals who supported families because if they did not end tbe strike now they would lose health care insurance benefits.
According to the Star Tribune article, which almost completely focused on the strikers' point of views, the average strker lost $1,800 in being out of work for two weeks.
This article was not as balanced as it could have been. It only included one quote from university adminstration, while several from strikers and supporters.
Another article, from the Pioneer Press, was much more impartial while still supporting the strikers. There had formerly been talk of legislative plans which would afford university adminstration more money to supplement their pay increase to contract workers, but no such disccusion was reported in either of these accounts of the settlement.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 10:33 PM | Permalink

Many Lino Lakes residents were upset when inmate, Jun William Vang escaped prison Saturday.
They were not notified of his escape until almost two days later.
He was serving a 13-year sentence for attempted murder in involvment with a 1999 drive-by shooting.
Police said residents in the area near the prison were not notified for fear that it would tip Vang off to their search.
Two recent photos were included in WCCO's account of the story because Vang is still at large.
Vang had been assigned minimal -custody in January and release in February for already serving eights in the state prison.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 4:40 PM | Permalink

A bus driver was found with an blood-alcohol level above the legal limit while on duty. Leonard Olson had driven volleyball students to a game in Houston, Minn. and afterwards he went to a bar.
Television news, KSTP, reported from Police Chief Jim Richardson that Olson was not arrested, but rode the bus as the volleyball coach drove home.
Olson was charged with a misdemeanor and could face fines, loss of driving privileges and a short jail sentence.
He is on leave from his job.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 4:09 PM | Permalink

Eden Prairie is making new road signs in and around the Eden Prairie shopping center. According to the article, it attracts 14-millions visitors annually.
A big part of the city's revenue comes from the mall and other local attractions. The problem is the roads and freeways leading there.
There is a large loop around the area which confuses drivers going in and out of the area. The city is concerned and wants to clarify any miscommunication with many new signs put into place.
The article includes several pieces of facts and quotes from reputable sources close to the situation so it is likely that the city will not lose any revenue because of the current signs on roads.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 4:08 PM | Permalink

The coverage of the after-affects of the I-35 bridge collapse are rampant. There are political, social and economic impacts as a result of the disaster. The Star Tribune reports that $60 million will be lost from the river crossing no longer being present. Readers become the immediate recipents of information as soon as it is released from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
It has also increased costs for drivers. The article is brief and repetitive in the terms used to describe the situation.
The other Twin Cities newspaper, the Pioneer Press, also includes coverage of the this recent update. Their report is on the lastest developments with Governor Pawlenty's proposal. It disscuesses how he previously rejected a transportation tax three different times but is now reconsidering. This, according to the article, has brought heat from other leaders who are quoted in the article.
This article is much more detailed with quotes included compared to the brief article found on Star Tribune's website. It provides information and opinions not expressed in the Minneapolis paper or elsewhere. Its sources and facts are varied and provide their audience with current information.

Posted by Carolyn Hayes at 5:55 AM | Permalink