Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Obama declares emergency, evacuations begin
  With evacuations ordered in parts of Fargo and Moorhead, Pres. Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration Thursday night declaring Minn. a disaster area. This comes after the National Weather Service issued a forecast that the crest for the area would reach 41 to 43 feet this weekend.3:50 p.m.
• Rochester novelist explores the life of the Bible's first woman
  A Rochester novelist takes on the life of the first woman in the Bible, Eve, to great success.3:54 p.m.
• Art Hounds: Week of March 26
  Each week Minnesota Public Radio News asks three people from the Minnesota arts scene to be "Art Hounds." Their job is to step outside our own work and hunt down something exciting that's going on this weekend.4:44 p.m.
• Fargo hospital system prepares for flood injuries
  MPR's Tom Crann talks to Bruce Pitts, Executive Vice President of MeritCare Health System - which operates hospitals and clinics in the Fargo-Moorhead area.4:50 p.m.
• Fed money stimulates construction of NE MN physics lab
  Stimulus money will fund dozens of jobs to build a big physics experiment in northeast Minnesota.4:54 p.m.
• Fargo emergency flood plans
  The City of Fargo has prepared the following contingency evacuation plan for residents who live within the secondary dike system. Residents will be notified via sirens, CodeRED and the Emergency Broadcast System if there is a levy breach and an evacuation is necessary.5:20 p.m.
• Fighting the flood from afar
  The closest watch on the Red River might be kept in a windowless room in St. Paul, known as the state's Emergency Operations Center.5:50 p.m.
• Pawlenty proposes state workers take unpaid leave
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty is proposing that state employees agree to take up to 48 days of unpaid leave over the next two years as a way to save money. Union officials say the plan for forced furloughs is unacceptable.5:54 p.m.
• Video: The last-minute fight
  As a Code Red was issued this afternoon, signifying an evacuation is possible from Riverfront Circle, and the surrounding neighborhoods, the Morses and John Brummer were not giving up.6:20 p.m.
• Preparing a business for the flood
  As residents and volunteers are working to protect houses and neighborhoods along the Red River. Businesses in Fargo and Moorhead are also dealing with rising waters.6:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Anatomy Of A Bank Takeover
  When a bank fails, agents from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. slip into town and quietly assume control. Staffers at Washington's Bank of Clark County describe the top-secret mission as amazingly swift and precise.
• Odierno: Dispute In North Could Still Destabilize Iraq
  Violence in Iraq is at its lowest levels since 2003. But Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, says a dispute between the semi-autonomous Kurdish north and Baghdad over control of oil-rich cities such as Kirkuk could lead to renewed instability if left unresolved.
• Herring School For Safer Sex
  Hidden below the deep, dark ocean, millions of herring come together in a nightly ritual migration in order to mate. It happens within minutes: Small groups of fish cluster and coalesce, forming groups as large as a half-billion. The swarm behaves as one, navigating the dangerous ocean en masse to get to the mating site.
• U.S. Automakers May Get Another Lifeline
  Days before a deadline for General Motors and Chrysler to prove they can be viable, major issues still aren't resolved. But there is every indication the companies will live on past the March 31 deadline, and, perhaps, receive more federal aid with conditions.
• Mortgages Offer Rare Positive Economic News
  Rates on home mortgages have dropped to all-time lows, and there are early signs that home sales may finally be coming out of their tailspin. Still, the economy is still not at a place where it is regularly functioning.
• Spy Chief Seeks Added Intelligence In Afghanistan
  National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said Thursday the intelligence support now in place to aid military operations in Afghanistan is lacking. He sat down with reporters the day before President Obama reveals his strategy for Afghanistan.
• Letters: Medical Records, 'Three Stooges'
  Listeners weigh in on the government's decision to help hospitals shift medical records online, and wonder whether the story of the Three Stooges film adaptation is fact or fiction. Robert Siegel reads from listeners' e-mails.
• Amadou And Mariam: Well Beyond Mali
  The self-billed "blind couple of Mali" have been recording since the '80s, but they've never stuck to one style. On Welcome to Mali, Amadou and Mariam absorb ideas from everywhere and sound like they're having a ball.
• Border Mayors Say Mexico Unrest Fears Overblown
  Violence on Mexico's border fueled by the drugs trade has dominated news headlines in recent days. But mayors of towns and cities along the U.S.-Mexican border say the attention borders on hysteria and they are urging a more rational view.
• 'Monsters Vs. Aliens': When 3-D Attacks
  A meteor transforms a valley girl into a giantess — and kick-starts her career as a world-saving monster once aliens invade. DreamWorks' animated frolic features the voices of Seth Rogen and Reese Witherspoon.

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