Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• St. Vincent performs in the Current studio
  Singer/multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark said she came up with the name St. Vincent to put no limitations on what she could do. She said with a name like St. Vincent, the band could be "expandable and could include other people and really be a whole entity."4:20 p.m.
• Plan would route high-speed rail through Rochester
  Rochester leaders are putting together a rail proposal that they hope will bring high speed passenger rail to the city and get freight trains out of downtown.5:16 p.m.
• Midwest group unveils climate change plan
  Representatives from six Midwest states and one Canadian province completed a plan today to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.5:35 p.m.
• Key witness testifies at Minneapolis police corruption trial
  A convicted gang member took the stand in the corruption trial against a Minneapolis police officer.5:44 p.m.
• No compromises yet in Minn. budget negotiations
  There's still no overall budget agreement at the Capitol, but Democrats in the Minnesota House and Senate say they still plan to pass all their remaining budget bills by Wednesday night, and send them to Gov. Tim Pawlenty.5:48 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Why We Spend Coins Faster Than Bills
  The smaller the currency, the faster people spend it, research shows. It's called the denomination effect. One economist says the government should start making more coins and send tax rebates in cash.
• Kabul Pays Family Of Civilians Killed In U.S. Airstrike
  In a remote corner of western Afghanistan, a team of high-ranking Afghan officials is making reparation payments to survivors of a U.S. airstrike last week. The official death toll, disputed by the U.S. military, is 140 civilians and 25 Taliban fighters.
• In Praise Of Ondaatje's Gloriously Intoxicating 'Lion'
  Author Kamila Shamsie owns two copies of Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion so that no matter where she is, she can always slip into the novel's vital, heart-stopping world.
• Expert: McChrystal, Petraeus Share Afghan View
  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has replaced the top general in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, with Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Andrew Exum, a fellow with the Center for a New American Security who served under McChrystal in Iraq and Afghanistan, offers his insight.
• To Keep Your Brain Nimble As You Age, Stretch It
  Challenging your brain with mental exercises can improve your intelligence over the years and help stave off the dementia that comes with old age, says psychiatrist and author Richard Restak. He offers up a workout regimen to keep your brain fit.
• Soft Market, New Tech Could Narrow Cable Ad Gap
  Cable TV shows earn less from advertising than their broadcast brethren, even if the shows have the same ratings. But the gap may be slowly shrinking, and cable providers are looking to the weakening ad market — and new technologies — to make it happen even faster.
• Amid Declining Ad Sales, PSAs Emerge As Winners
  The economic slowdown has forced companies to hold back on their advertising. Media companies that aren't able to sell their commercial time are increasingly filling the holes with public service advertisements.
• Marijuana Farms Take Root In National Parks
  Marijuana is one of America's biggest cash crops, and growers have brazenly moved pot farms onto public lands and national parks. Rangers and other officials now patrol the land in search of these farms, many of which are run by networks with connections in Mexico.
• Texas Case May Spur Drug Money Rule Change
  The NPR series Dirty Money revealed how some police agencies abuse a law that allows them to confiscate suspected drug money. The problems continue, but in Texas that might be about to change. A police scandal has added urgency to reform efforts in the statehouse.
• Why Are Meteorites So Expensive?
  Some very pricey chunks of space rock are among the objects for sale at a Dallas auction house this weekend. A 5-pound piece of a meteorite that famously crashed through the roof of a house in Park Forest, Ill., in 2003 is expected to fetch more than $50,000. David Herskowitz, director of the natural history section at Heritage Auctions, talks about the art of pricing such items.

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