Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Equality riders target discrimination against gay and lesbian college students
  A cross-country bus tour by gay-rights activists has arrived in Minnesota. The Soulforce Equality Ride is visiting 19 colleges and universities across the nation to protest what the organizers call "discriminatory policies" at those schools. Yesterday, administrators at NorthCentral University barred the activists from campus buildings at the private Pentecostal school in Minneapolis. Today, the group met with officials at Bethel University in St. Paul.4:48 p.m.
• Living with an expectation of crime in Minneapolis
  Some Minneapolis residents say they have come to expect to encounter crime in Minneapolis.5:19 p.m.
• Lawmakers call for tighter security around St. Peter hospital
  A convicted rapist remains at large after squeezing through a broken window Saturday night.5:23 p.m.
• Farm installs robotic milkers
  Robotic milking machines could help reduce the often crushing workload of operating a dairy farm. At least one Minnesota family is experimenting with the new technology.5:48 p.m.
• Doctors and patients find healing in medical poetry
  Many of the concerns of physicians and patients -- life and death, struggle and hope -- have also been the regular themes of poets through the ages. Dr. Jon Hallberg shares his annual selection of medical poetry during National Poetry Month.6:18 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Celebrating Dyngus Day, a Buffalo, N.Y., Tradition
  For more than 40 years, the Monday after Easter has been known as Dyngus Day in Buffalo, N.Y. It's a post-Lent day of dancing, beer, Polish sausages and an odd courting ritual that brings revelers in search of true love.
• NBA Teams May Play for Position
  Fans looking for high-quality basketball may wish to avoid the game between the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies. It's not the teams' talent: Both teams are playoff-bound. But in a strange quirk of the NBA post-season, both the Clippers and Grizzlies stand to benefit from losing the game.
• Hu Stresses Economic Coexistence in Seattle
  The president of China, Hu Jintao, arrives in Seattle, the first stop on his four-day visit to the United States. President Hu is using his visit to argue that China's increasing wealth and prosperity isn't a threat to the United States, but rather an opportunity.
• The Haves and Have-Nots in Trade With China
  President Hu Jintao's first visit to the United States since taking office comes as many Americans are calling for tough action on China's trade policies. Economists say the monetary and business policies behind the imbalance have both hurt and helped some Americans.
• Studies Ease Fears About Mercury in Fillings
  Mercury in dental work does not hinder children's mental development, according to two new studies. The findings, published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association, found no difference between children with and without fillings containing mercury.
• Portman to Guide Bush's Budget Plans
  President Bush selects Rob Portman to be his new budget director. Portman takes the job vacated by the president's new chief of staff, Josh Bolten. Portman's current post of trade representative will go to his deputy, Susan Schwab. Bolten has suggested that more administration changes may come.
• Moussaoui Defense Questions His Mental Health
  Lawyers for al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui question a psychologist about the confessed terrorist's mental state. Moussaoui's defense team is trying to repair damage done by their client last week, when he told the jury weighing the death penalty that he would attack America if he could.
• Mosley's 'Fortunate Son' Tells Two Tales
  Walter Mosley's Fortunate Son is a novel about two boys from Southern California, one black and one white, who are as close as brothers. But the paths their lives take could not be more different.
• Duke Players on Bail; Lawyer Refutes Charges
  Two members of Duke's lacrosse team are free on bond after being arrested on charges of kidnapping and rape. The charges stem from a team party at a house near the university's Durham, N.C., campus. Prosecutors say the pair assaulted a woman who was hired to dance at the party.
• Avoiding Quake Talk in San Francisco
  Scientists say a great earthquake could hit the San Francisco area in the next 30 years. But many residents prefer to live in denial. Commentator Louise Rafkin talked to her friends and neighbors for an understanding of how people balance everyday danger with everyday life.
• San Franciscans Mark a Day of Destruction
  In San Francisco, thousands of people gathered in the pre-dawn hours at Lotta's Fountain, an architectural survivor of the 1906 earthquake that devastated the city. This year, the event included 11 survivors of the quake. KQED's Cy Musiker reports.
• Oil Prices Set New Record, Topping $71 a Barrel
  Crude oil prices hit record highs of more than $70 a barrel. At the end of trading Tuesday, the price settled at $71.60 -- a 95-cent increase over Monday's record close. President Bush, saying he is concerned about higher gas prices, promised the government would stop any price gouging.
• The Toll of High Gas Prices: Two Stories
  To get a sense of how rising gas prices affect some businesses, Melissa Block talks with two people whose work relies on fuel: Rusty Thompson, a Kentucky farmer who estimates that his tractors burn 5 to 12 gallons an hour, and Roger Wethington, co-owner of Fastimes Indoor Karting in Indianapolis. Wethington says he's conflicted about running an operation that burns gas for entertainment.
• A Young Hawaiian Clears an Imposing Hurdle
  In Hawaii, where few public schools are known for their academic achievements, a student's chances of landing a spot in a big state school is remote. But Peni Fiuangaihetau, a larger-than-life high school senior from Maui, has beaten cultural and academic odds to land a college spot in Utah. Hawaii ranks dead last in U.S. high school academic testing. Very few students in the state go on to college.
• Activist Rabbi Hertzberg Dies at 84
  Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, an activist who marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., has died at age 84. Hertzberg, a prominent American historian and civil-rights advocate, also wrote extensively about the Jewish experience. He served as president of the American Jewish Congress in addition to teaching at New York University, Dartmouth and elsewhere. Robert Siegel has a remembrance.

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