Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Minnesota Orchestra earns rave reviews in New York
  Earlier this month, Osmo Vanska and the Minnesotans played Beethoven and "Kullervo" a big, dramatic piece by Sibelius, at New York's Carnegie Hall. The New York Times called that performance "riveting" and "thrilling."4:44 p.m.
• Oakport turns to levees instead of a million sandbags
  Oakport Township -- an area just north of Moorhead along the Red River -- was hard hit by floods last year. This year, instead of sandbag walls, the township is building a clay levee in some areas to protect more homes.5:20 p.m.
• Delano braces for worst flooding in a decade
  Delano city officials are bracing for the worst flooding they've seen in nearly a decade as a bubble of water makes its way down the Crow River.5:24 p.m.
• 'Scan Eagle' takes flight over the flood
  As the people living along the Red River are watching the water's progression on the ground, the University of North Dakota's aerospace program is focused on flood waters from above.5:43 p.m.
• Diedrich Weiss heals himself and others with his music
  Musician Diedrich Weiss plays his guitar and sings around the Twin Cities. Yet he says his best audiences are at Fairview Southdale hospital in the mental health unit, where he was once a patient.5:49 p.m.
• Minnesota Orchestra earns rave reviews in New York
  Earlier this month, Osmo Vanska and the Minnesotans played Beethoven and "Kullervo" a big, dramatic piece by Sibelius, at New York's Carnegie Hall. The New York Times called that performance "riveting" and "thrilling."6:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Democrats Stress Immediate Effects Of Health Bill
  Republicans have threatened to make the controversial health care overhaul a central issue in every congressional race next fall. So from President Obama on down, Democrats have begun telling voters not just what the overhaul will do for them but what it will do for them right away.
• Jewish Community At Center Of Storm Is Calm
  Residents of the Jewish community of Ramat Shlomo, located in East Jerusalem, say they are unfazed by the international furor surrounding the announcement that 1,600 homes will be built there. But Palestinians say Israel is trying to push the Arab population out of the area.
• German Catholics Push Pope To Speak Out On Abuse
  In Germany, Catholic lay activists and others are urging Pope Benedict XVI to do more about the growing sexual abuse scandal involving priests in his native Germany. Several hundred cases of alleged abuse have recently emerged, and some German Catholics are demanding reform.
• Education Secretary Pushes 'No Child Left Behind 2.0'
  The White House proposal to rewrite the education law faced its first major test Wednesday as Education Secretary Arne Duncan defended the plan before two congressional committees. Lawmakers raised concerns about requiring low-performing schools to replace their staffs and a switch to competitive grants for federal money.
• Dante Quartet: Stirring Up Impressionist Energy
  The Dante Quartet's performances of the Debussy and Ravel string quartets are etched more than most, as if they'd used fine brush strokes to carve musical shapes, rather than broad strokes that would create more wash of the musical colors.
• Brad Mehldau: Beyond The Boundaries Of Jazz
  The jazz pianist has improvised around Beatles songs. He's written works for operatic soprano Renee Fleming. And now, with his new double album, Highway Rider, he's created a large-scale work for chamber orchestra and jazz ensemble, produced by pop artist Jon Brion.
• Martin Indyk On Netanyahu-U.S. Flap
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in the midst of a spat with Washington over housing in East Jerusalem, is no stranger to tough negotiations with the U.S. Martin Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel, says that for indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians to go forward, Netanyahu must comply with Washington's demand: No more provocative acts in East Jerusalem.
• Letters: Doctors, Graves
  Listeners respond to the story on the reaction of cardiologists about the changes in government payments for Medicare and about the remembrance of actor Peter Graves.
• Secrecy Around Trade Agreement Causes Stir
  The U.S. and other developed countries have quietly been negotiating the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement for several years. But secrecy around the talks has led to speculation about what's in the proposed international pact that centers on intellectual property rights.
• Dose Of Fellow Man Spurs Creativity
  Commentator Andrei Codrescu says he once had to escape an artists' colony because it isolated him from the buzz of the city. Today, he's content having more trees and fewer people. But he says peace of mind and solitude are not a good breeding ground for creative ideas.

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