Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Tracking the tombstone trends
  Tombstones used to simply offer the name of the dearly departed and maybe a carving of some religious icon. But these days, grave markers showcase everything from the deceased's hobbies to their favorite cartoon characters.4:35 p.m.
• Slideshow: The art of the grave
  Gravestone designs used to be limited to flowers and religious icons. But today's memorials showcase everything from the deceased's hobbies to their favorite cartoon characters. Here are just some of the unique tombstones on display in Twin Cities cemeteries.4:36 p.m.
• Pawlenty vetoes tax bill
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty has followed through on his threat to quickly veto a $1 billion package of tax increases.5:16 p.m.
• Governor signs BPA ban, chemical oversight bill
  Governor Tim Pawlenty signed a bill Friday restricting the sale of children's drinking products made with BPA.5:20 p.m.
• After 30 years, metal band Anvil becomes an overnight success
  Friday night, some longtime unsung heroes of heavy metal music played in Minneapolis. Members of Anvil have been rocking together since the early 1970's and they are credited as being a formative influence on many of the big name bands today. Yet despite playing regularly for more than 30 years, until recently they were relatively unknown. That's changed as a result of a new documentary.5:45 p.m.
• Quiet White Bear Lake was once a Minnesota vacation mecca
  The quiet bedroom community hosting this weekend's fishing opener was once a hopping vacation destination for Twin Cities residents. One hundred years ago, lavish resorts, hotels, restaurants and even an ammusement park lined the shore.6:16 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Stimulus Funds To Make Kansas City Safer, Greener
  Missouri Rep. Emanuel Clever envisions channeling at least $50 million from the federal government into the "Green Impact Zone," a particularly violent and blighted part of the city's urban core. His plan includes weatherizing houses, buying new buses and possibly installing a new power grid.
• Backcountry Mail Route Back In The Air
  The U.S. Postal Service will maintain airmail plane service to several addresses scattered across Idaho inside the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. Postmaster General John Potter said none of the alternatives "would provide acceptable service levels to our customers."
• 'Afterquake': Rebuilding Sichuan With Song
  A year after a devastating earthquake, Sichuan province in China is still rebuilding. Many children remain separated from their parents. To raise awareness of victims still in need, Abigail Washburn and Dave Liang spent two weeks in Sichuan to create Afterquake, an album that mixes actual sounds of the rebuilding with the voices of relocated school children.
• CIA: Pelosi Knew Of Interrogation In '02
  A report from the CIA says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew about harsh interrogation methods in 2002. Pelosi (D-CA) says she learned the administration maintained such methods were legal, but was not informed they were actually being used.
• Week In Politics Examined
  Political commentators David Brooks, columnist for The New York Times, and Harold Meyerson, columnist for The Washington Post and editor-at-large at the American Prospect, talk about the week in politics. Topics this week: Speaker Nancy Pelosi and waterboarding, the economy, the stress tests, and the Democrats assailing President Obama's proposed budget cuts.
• GM Dealer Explains Why He Closed Shop
  The Mark Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealership in Yonkers, N.Y., closed recently after 40 years in business. Mark Herrmann, the former owner, says he had been losing money on it for the last six months, and the terms required by the finance companies made it impossible for him to stay in business.
• In Flint, Hopes For U.S. Auto Industry's Future
  The man President Obama has named to help places hit hard by massive job losses in the U.S. auto industry visits a place that has long been symbolic of such decline — Flint, Mich. The city provides a vivid real-world example of just how big a job it will be to stage a recovery.
• Controversy Mounts Ahead Of Afghan Elections
  Elections in Afghanistan, scheduled for August, will mark the first time in the country's history that one democratically chosen leader will be replaced by another. Allegations of fraud and intimidation by incumbent President Hamid Karzai and his ticket are shaping the race.
• Examining China Year After Quake
  Melissa Block has been in China's Sichuan Province reporting on how that region is recovering from the massive earthquake it suffered almost exactly a year ago. She discusses her trip and what has changed since the deadly quake.
• Former Pullman Porter Subtly Confronted Racism
  This weekend, 93-year-old Frank Rollins will attend a celebration in Philadelphia in honor of the African-Americans who served as Pullman porters. Amtrak estimates that fewer than 200 former porters are still alive. Rollins says he gladly served passengers but "wasn't willing to be a showman."

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