Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• U of M stadium proposal gets first legislative hearing
  University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks and top U of M athletics leaders told members of the Senate Higher Education Budget Committee this legislative session offers the best chance for a new Gopher football stadium. The latest stadium proposal passed out of committee.5:18 p.m.
• Fish warning issued
  High levels of a chemical contaminant in the Mississippi River have prompted state health officials to issue a new warning about eating fish from the river. Researchers for the state and 3M found high enough levels of the Perfluorochemical compound PFOS in fish in a stretch of river in the south Twin Cities metro area, to issue new advice for eating bluegill sunfish. Releases of PFOS came from the Scotchgard manufacturing operations at 3M's Cottage Grove plant, where the product was made for nearly 50 years. The new recommendations advise against eating more than one meal of bluegill sunfish a week from "pool 2" of the Mississippi River between the Hastings Dam and Ford Dam in Saint Paul. Tom Crann talked with Department of Health Research Scientist Pat McCann, who says it's too early to know if PFOS has affected fish in other parts of the river as well.5:23 p.m.
• Legal experts doubt Minnesota Supreme Court would overturn marriage ban
  Opponents of gay marriage say a constitutional amendment defining marriage is necessary because they worry Minnesota's Supreme Court would overturn a decades-old ruling banning same-sex marriage. Several legal experts doubt that scenario.5:48 p.m.
• Minneapolis and Hennepin County plan to end homelessness by 2016
  A 70-member commission of city, county and community members will create a plan to effectively end homelessness throughout Minneapolis by 2016. It's part of a nationwide effort to change the way governments approach the homeless.5:52 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• A Guy Named Otto and a Moose
  Commentator Kevin Kling has a story about a true-life experience involving Bill Magie, a legend up in the north country.
• Bolten Replaces Card as White House Chief of Staff
  Amid growing calls for a White House shakeup and concerns about low poll ratings, President Bush announces that Joshua Bolten will replace Andrew Card as White House Chief of Staff. Bolten is the current Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
• Disinheritance Prompts Family's Transformation
  Commentator Rich Cohen's family has transformed since his grandparents died. When the will was read, the family was surprised to find that his mother had been cut out of it. Cohen is the author of the forthcoming Sweet and Low: A Family Story.
• Youth-Jobs Law Protests Bring Paris to a Standstill
  Tens of thousands take to the streets in France to protest a new youth-jobs law. Public-transport workers and teachers stage a strike to try to force Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to abandon the law. Union and student leaders say the law will create a generation of "throwaway workers."
• Israel Exit Polls Indicate a Win for Kadima Party
  Exit polls in Israel's elections are projecting that interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party will win the most parliamentary seats, putting it in a position to form a coalition government. These are the first elections held since former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had a stroke in January.
• Supreme Court Questions Military Trials for Detainees
  The Supreme Court hears arguments about whether President Bush has the sole power to establish military tribunals to try Guantanamo prisoners for war crimes. The administration says the detainees have to submit first to commissions run by the military, and only when that is done can they appeal to civilian courts.
• Frist Pushes Stringent Immigration Proposal
  A Senate panel's overhaul of immigration and border-security laws has hit a speed bump on its way to the Senate chamber. Rather than bringing up the committee's bill, Majority Leader Bill Frist is advancing his own proposal, which deals only with border-security issues and does not include immigrant-labor provisions.
• Spanish D.J. Organizes Immigration-Reform Protests
  Rafael Pulido, aka "El Pistolero," is host of a morning talk show for WOJO's La Que Buena. His show is the main vehicle for informing the Hispanic community about protests against the immigration bill that is currently under consideration in the Senate.
• Little League Adds 20 Feet to the Outfield
  Baseball players ages 11 and 12 who are playing in the Little League World Series this summer will have to run farther and throw harder because 20 feet have been added to the field. Lance Van Auchen, spokesman for Little League Baseball, explains why outfield fences are being moved to 225 feet away from homeplate.
• Columnists Review Immigration and Resignation
  E.J. Dionne, a columnist for the Washington Post and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and columnist Charles Krauthammer talk with Melissa Block about immigration, Andy Card's resignation, and the deaths of Caspar Weinberger and Lyn Nofziger.
• Moussaoui Attorneys Try to Salvage Defense
  The defense rests in Zacarias Moussaoui's sentencing trial after defense attorneys read testimony from al-Qaida operatives who are held by the United States. The al-Qaida operatives say that Moussaoui was considered unreliable and they did not intend to include him in the Sept. 11 attacks.
• Afghan Christian Released from Prison, Goes into Hiding
  A Christian convert in Muslim Afghanistan is released from prison and has gone into hiding. Afghan judicial officials say the charges against Abdel Rahman -- which could have led to the death penalty -- were dropped because he is mentally unfit to stand trial.
• U.S. Scolds Nigeria over Missing Liberian Warlord
  Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo is en route to Washington for talks with the Bush administration. But the White House has suggested that President Bush may call off a meeting with Obasanjo that's planned for Wednesday. The White House wants to know how Liberian warlord Charles Taylor escaped.
• College Student Spends Two Days in Wal-Mart
  Drake University sophomore Skyler Bartels spent 41 consecutive hours living at a Wal-Mart during his spring break. Bartels' original goal was to figure out whether the giant retailer really could provide anything he needed at any hour of the day.
• Naming Dispute Brewing over Washington's U Street
  Washington, D.C.'s "U Street corridor" has been a center for African-American commerce and culture for decades. But efforts by African immigrants to rename part of the area "Little Ethiopia" has emotions running high. The immigrants see themselves as part of the rebirth of the area.

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories

Become a Sponsor