Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• After the Falls
  Photographer Alec Soth explores Niagara Falls, falling in love, and the aftermath of passion in a new body of work devoted to the famous body of water.4:50 p.m.
• Big borrowing bill sails through Minnesota House
  With only a few members flinching at the cost, the Republican-led House voted 114-16 Wednesday for nearly $1 billion in public-works construction projects.5:19 p.m.
• Audit: Errors rife when immigrants apply for health care
  County human services workers make many errors when they process applications from immigrants for public health care, allowing some to get benefits they may not be entitled to, according to an audit released Wednesday.5:23 p.m.
• Deep partisanship of last legislative session absent this time around
  On the last day of work before a long spring break, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed its version of a bonding bill. The Senate has approved a bonding bill with a different list of projects, so legislators from both houses will meet to reconcile differences after the recess. All sides seem optimistic that process will be less divisive than the budget negotiations that paralyzed the Legislature last year and temporarily shut down parts of state government. All Things Considered's Tom Crann sat down with two long-time state lawmakers to talk about how the legislative process has changed over time. DFL Rep. Loren Solberg has represented Grand Rapids since 1982 and Sen. Bill Belanger, R-Bloomington, has represented his district since 1980. Both are convinced that the partisanship of 2005 has been largely absent so far this session.5:48 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Easter Can Be a Tough Time for Bananas
  Michele Norris speaks with Pat Foster about what the Easter holidays mean for the banana business. Foster is the Chiquita Brands International Director of North American Ripening. His primary job is to make sure that bananas get to stores when they are the perfect yellow color -- neither too green nor overripe. But the Easter holidays mean plantation workers in the tropics take time off from work.
• Anga's Conga Line of New Music
  Cuban music, African folklore, jazz, and hip-hop all collide on a new recording by Cuban percussionist Miguel "Anga" Diaz. Diaz, commonly referred to as simply Anga, has played congas in many projects, Cuban and otherwise. His new CD, Echu Mingua, marks his debut as a bandleader. Reviewer Banning Eyre says it's a landmark recording.
• Prodi to Pick Cabinet as Election Turmoil Continues
  Romano Prodi, leader of Italy's center-left coalition, that has claimed victory over Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, says he will start choosing members of his cabinet. Berlusconi, who has refused to concede defeat, has called for checks on some 43,000 disputed ballots.
• NASDAQ Purchase Shows a Global Shift
  NASDAQ, the stock exchange known for its coverage of technology stocks, has surprised observers by purchasing a 15 percent stake in the venerable London Stock Exchange. Now some expect NASDAQ to attempt to gain a majority stake soon -- and for more stock exchanges to consolidate globally.
• Rev. William Sloane Coffin Dies at 81
  Rev. William Sloane Coffin has died. Coffin, a former chaplin at Yale University, was best known for his peace and civil rights activism during the Vietnam War. He was immortalized as the Rev. Sloane in the Doonesbury comic strip. Coffin, who was 81, had suffered from congestive heart failure.
• A Catfish That Walks for Its Dinner
  A previously undiscovered African catfish has a rare but important ability: When it can't find food in the water, it slithers onto land to eat crickets. By some accounts, the out-of-water hunting method used by the fish helps explain why fish first crawled out of the sea millions of years ago.
• U.S. Knew Trailers Weren't Bio Labs, Paper Reports
  In 2003, President Bush declared that weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq, referring to tractor-trailers believed to be mobile weapons labs. But according to a Washington Post article, a Defense Intelligence Agency report stated the trailers weren't related to warfare.
• European Countries Join U.S. to Condemn Iran
  Russia and the European Union joined the United States in condemning Iran for advancing its nuclear program. On Tuesday, Iran said it had enriched uranium, in defiance of a United Nations demand.
• FEMA Sets Guides for Rebuilding New Orleans
  FEMA releases new federal advisories and recommendations about which areas of New Orleans are vulnerable to flooding in the future. The advisories will require that many houses be raised several feet to qualify for insurance. Residents plan to use the guide to decide whether to rebuild or relocate.
• AIDS Drugs Bring Hope and Challenges
  Antiretroviral therapies to treat AIDS have transformed patients' lives and Dr. Michael Saag's practice at the University of Alabama-Birmingham's Center for AIDS Research. But Saag says the therapies have brought new worries, such as concerns about drug resistance and the quality of life for AIDS patients who now live much longer.
• Moussaoui Jury Hears Tapes of Flight 93 Crash
  The jury deciding the fate of Zacarias Moussaoui hears cockpit and air traffic control tapes from United Flight 93 before it crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. It was the final day of presentation for federal prosecutors.
• Officials Say Maps of Flood Plains Are Late
  New Orleans Director of Safety and Permits Mike Centineo is also the flood plain manager for the city. And he says he has been impatient to receive the "flood recovery guidance" information and flood plain maps of his parishes from FEMA.
• June, the Youngest Pointer Sister, Dies
  The all-woman group the Pointer Sisters had hits with "I'm So Excited," "Fire," "Jump (For My Love)," and "Slow Hand," among others, in the 1970s and '80s. June Pointer, the youngest of the Pointer sisters, has died of cancer. She was 52.
• Iraqi Leaders Sit Out Meetings with Arab Ministers
  Leaders of Iraq's interim government boycott a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, where the agenda includes Iraq's growing sectarian conflict. Iraqi officials were angered by remarks from Egypt's President Mubarak, who said Iraq's Shiites are more loyal to Tehran than to Baghdad.
• Bombing Iran Won't Work
  Commentator Jon Wolfsthal thinks that all the media reports about the possibility of a U.S. bombing of Iran don't take into account one thing. It just wouldn't stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

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