Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Refugee organization reflects on year after Haiti earthquake
  Recovery work in the country is far from finished, and several Minnesota-based organizations continue their efforts in Haiti. That includes the Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee.4:49 p.m.
• Teachers union offers compromise on school improvement plan
  Minnesota's statewide teachers union has unveiled a legislative proposal aimed at narrowing the racial achievement gap in public schools, partly by compromising on allowing alternative licensing for teachers.5:20 p.m.
• St. Paul schools plan emphasizes neighborhood schools
  St. Paul school superintendent Valeria Silva is unveiling a new three-year strategic plan for the district Tuesday that calls for some programs to be moved, retooled or even eliminated -- but also includes the reopening of some previously shuttered buildings.5:24 p.m.
• Sertich tapped to head IRRRB, says jobs are his focus
  Gov. Mark Dayton today announced DFL state Rep. Tony Sertich as his choice to head the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. The agency has a prominent economic development role in a chronically struggling region -- an area that, as a DFL stronghold, was also key to Dayton's election.5:50 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Tired Of Waiting, Haitians Build Their Own Homes
  Housing remains one of the biggest challenges facing Haiti after an earthquake destroyed much of the capital last year. But recently, thousands of people who've grown tired of living in temporary camps have started building houses in scrubby, vacant hills north of the capital.
• Doctors: Giffords Able To Breathe On Her Own
  As the injured from Saturday's shooting in Tucson continue their recovery, the community gathers to remember the six who died. President Obama is scheduled to be in Arizona for a memorial service Wednesday. At University Medical Center, there are six patients left in the hospital, and doctors reported good news on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' progress.
• The Tucson Shootings And Mental Health Procedures
  Jared Loughner, the alleged shooter in Tucson's massacre this weekend, had multiple run-ins at his local community college before he was asked to leave. Colleges and universities have revamped their procedures since the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. But those changes did not stop Loughner from buying a gun. In fact, Arizona has a relatively flexible law for forcing the mentally ill to seek treatment. But there's no evidence anyone sought to have Loughner evaluated, despite his bizarre behavior in class.
• Letters: Tucson Shootings
  Our coverage of the Tucson shootings and their aftermath generated a lot of listener comments, and some helpful facts. Host Robert Siegel reads from listeners' e-mails.
• Gates: N. Korea Could Soon Pose Threat To U.S.
  Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that North Korea could strike U.S. territory with nuclear weapons in as few as five years. The statement suggests that North Korea is making progress on intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, which are necessary to carry warheads great distances. Gates is on a visit to China, the nation that has the most influence with North Korea's leaders.
• Oil Spill Commission: Regulators Were 'Outmatched'
  One step in preventing another oil spill disaster is to hire federal regulators who won't be outsmarted by their better-paid, better-trained industry cohorts. That's one of the recommendations released Tuesday in the final report from the president's commission on the Gulf of Mexico spill.
• Hubble Telescope Sheds Light On Mysterious, Green Space Blob
  Scientists say new images from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the celestial object, discovered in 2007 by a Dutch schoolteacher, is a "twisting rope of gas" wrapped around a galaxy. The mysterious blob also is giving birth to new stars.
• Tucson Shootings Revive Calls For Tougher Gun Laws
  For the past several years, the issue of gun control has all but disappeared from the debate in Congress. Despite other incidents of mass violence, such as the shootings at Virginia Tech, lawmakers have been reluctant to propose or even discuss new gun legislation. Proponents hope this time things may be different.
• States Eye Budgets Amid Lackluster Revenue
  Legislatures in all 50 states are setting priorities and attempting the difficult job of balancing their budgets amid lackluster revenue and rising costs for education and health care. Newly inaugurated governors are looking for ways to create jobs, and many have promised tax cuts. Those promises may be hard to keep.
• More British TV Shows Crossing The Atlantic
  There are four new TV shows launching this month that are based on British hits. Andrew Wallenstein says that U.S. networks have been adapting British shows since Steptoe and Son became Sanford and Son, but the practice is even more common now.

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