Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Standoff over in Mahnomen; deputy still critical
  A Mahnomen County sheriff's deputy was in critical condition Wednesday after being shot several times in an incident that sparked a nine-hour standoff with police and locked down an area in this northwestern Minnesota town.4:50 p.m.
• St. Cloud seniors miss the newspaper's bridge column
  Many newspapers have cut back print space to deal with the economic downturn. At the St. Cloud Times, the newspaper decided to eliminate the column devoted to bridge, the card game. Many seniors are upset and they want the bridge column back on the paper.4:54 p.m.
• GOP plan would cut pay for state politicians
  A group of Republicans in the Minnesota House and Senate want lawmakers and constitutional officers to take a 5 percent pay cut.5:20 p.m.
• Levels of mercury in pike and walleye increasing
  Data shows that mercury levels are increasing in pike and walleye in Minnesota over the last 20 years.5:24 p.m.
• Homebuilders, suppliers have mixed reaction to stimulus bill
  Minnesota is likely to get billions of dollars from the federal stimulus plan President Obama signed into law yesterday, but exactly how much and where the money will go in the state remains unclear. Still, some businesses say they're already seeing results from the huge federal spending plan, while others doubt they'll see any benefit at all.5:50 p.m.
• Stimulus could free up funding for alternative energy projects
  The Obama stimulus package has brightened the outlook for wind power and other forms of renewable energy in Minnesota and one of the most helpful features of the legislation may be tax credits designed to boost production.5:54 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Fans Will Think Joan Rivers' Novel Amazing
  It's Academy Awards time and Joan Rivers is back. She won't be asking the question "Who are you wearing?" The question now is "Is it murder?" Joan Rivers has written a new mystery novel, Murder at the Academy Awards.
• A Close-Up Look At The Foreclosure Crisis
  Broward County, Fla., has been one of the hardest-hit by the real estate slump. Phyllis Brown, a mortgage counselor who works for the Broward County Housing Authority, says her agency receives anywhere from 700 to 800 calls a week from families facing foreclosure.
• In New Movie, Alien Attacks Austen-Era Britain
  You can't make this up if you tried: The planned movie Pride and Predator will juxtapose brooding aristocrats with a brutal alien that lands in 1800s-era Britain, attacking residents and leaving them with neither sense nor sensibility.
• Little Mention Of Poverty In Public Discourse
  Until he had his stimulus bill, President Barack Obama talked little of poverty. He did not make a point of the fact that the plan contains large benefits for the poor in the form of food stamps, services for the homeless and expanded Medicaid coverage.
• Sen. Burris Rejects Accusations
  Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) defended himself Wednesday to an audience in Chicago, saying if the accusations against him were true, he'd be too embarrassed to appear in public. On Monday, Burris acknowledged that he agreed to raise money for Rod Blagojevich.
• Media Critic Examines N.Y. Post Cartoon Flap
  The political cartoon in the New York Post Tuesday depicting a chimp shot by the police caused an uproar, including backlash from the Rev. Al Sharpton. Media Critic Eric Deggans says whatever the intention, the editorial decision to run it was "disturbing."
• Finds At L.A. Tar Pits Provide Glimpse Into Past
  Massive deposits of fossils — from ancient algae to a mammoth named Zed — were recently excavated in the La Brea tar pits in California. Robin Turner, president of ArchaeoPaleo Resource Management, says this is the world's best paleontological find.
• Early Switch To Digital Has Viewers Seeking Help
  More than 420 stations across the country went ahead with the switch from analog to digital TV Tuesday. It appears no market will lose all of its major network affiliates, but several markets are losing most of their analog broadcasts.
• Letters: Bergner, Schwartz
  An update to the story on Facebook quietly changing its terms of service to indicate that it can retain users' content even after they deleted their accounts. Also, listeners respond to the interview with writer Daniel Bergner, and to the profile of jeweler Lorraine Schwartz.
• Va. County Uses Phones To Bring Meetings Home
  One county in Virginia has found a new way to reach taxpayers: An automated phone system calls thousands of residents and asks them to participate in school board meetings. It has proven successful.
• Hit Doll's Creator Inspired By Friend's Madoff Loss
  A surprise hit at this year's Toy Fair in New York was the Smash-Me Bernie doll. It is a resin doll that looks disgraced investor Bernard Madoff wearing a devil costume. Graeme Warring, president of ModelWorks who created the doll, talks about where the idea came from.
• Obama Unveils Mortgage-Relief Plan
  President Barack Obama unveiled a $75 billion plan Wednesday to help up to 9 million homeowners avoid foreclosure. He made the announcement in suburban Phoenix, which has been badly affected by the real estate crisis.
• Wisconsin Car Dealership Hiring Despite Times
  A Milwaukee area car dealer says, believe it or not, people are buying his GM cars. He held the second of a two-day job fair Wednesday to try to find dozens of new salesmen and auto techs to staff his dealership.
• Coming Soon: Universal Phone Chargers
  The mobile phone industry promised Monday to standardize phone chargers by 2012 at a trade association meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Most major handset manufacturers agreed to this, except for Apple.
• How The Obama Mortgage Plan Works
  President Barack Obama says up to 9 million struggling homeowners could get help from the housing rescue plan he outlined. The plan commits $275 billion in government funds to the effort and would help some homeowners reduce home payments by refinancing.

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