Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Duluth looks for an investigator
  Officials in Duluth are trying to find someone to investigate Mayor Herb Bergson. Last year, the mayor gave a classified report to the publisher of the Duluth News-Tribune. The report's author, Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles, says that was illegal. But so far he hasn't been able to find anyone to investigate he matter. Now, the Duluth city council has instructed the city's purchasing agent to hire someone to conduct an investigation.5:19 p.m.
• Minnesota River phosphorus cleanup
  The Minnesota River is cleaner than it was a decade ago but it's still far from pristine. Reducing phosphorus in the river is the current pollution target.5:23 p.m.
• Chemical spill near downtown St.Paul leads to tense moments
  There were some tense moments in St. Paul Tuesday following a hydrochloric acid spill at a business not far from downtown.5:48 p.m.
• Little Minneapolis
  They call it "little Minneapolis." The Mexican town of Axochiapan has 30,000 residents, and has been impoverished for centuries. These days, however, there's pizza delivery, a new medical clinic, and late model mini-vans with Minnesota license plates. The meager farm economy there has been augmented by an influx of money being sent back home from workers here in the Twin Cities, many of them illegally. The story of Axochiapan has been appearing this week in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Reporter Kevin Diaz, joins us on the line to talk more about what's going on there now, and how it fits into the complicated immigration debate.5:51 p.m.
• Minnesota rocks
  Artists from around world are in St. Paul to celebrate the most common material on the planet -- rock. Over the next six weeks, a group of master stonecarvers will transform Minnesota quarry stone into art.6:23 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Bush and Olmert Discuss Hamas, Iran in Visit
  President Bush meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the White House to discuss the new leader's plan to withdraw from much of the West Bank. Progress toward a Palestinian state has been clouded by the election of Hamas to run the Palestinian Authority.
• Palestinians Fret as Violence Builds in Gaza
  Escalating violence in Gaza has many Palestinians fearful of all-out civil war. The violent power struggle between the rival Fatah and Hamas parties has killed several people and wounded dozens more in the Gaza Strip in the last five days.
• Putin Targets Corruption with Crackdown
  Russia's President Vladimir Putin puts the customs service under the control of a trusted ally as part of an anti-corruption drive. Ten law enforcement officials have been fired in the initiative. Many observers believe the moves are not really about fighting corruption, but actually reflect turf battles between Kremlin factions.
• Data-Mining a Mountain of Phone Calls
  Numerous reports allege that the National Security Agency may have been collecting telephone traffic information on millions of Americans. What could the NSA possibly hope to learn from such a mountain of data? As NPR's Larry Abramson reports, experts in data-mining are aiming their increasingly sensitive tools at just this kind of complex information, in the hopes of predicting when the risk of terrorist threats is the highest.
• Hundreds Arrested in Mass-Marketing Scam
  More than 560 people are arrested in an investigation of mass-marketing fraud schemes that victimized more than 2 million Americans, according to the Justice Department. The scams were carried out over the Internet and via telemarketing and direct mail. Officials say losses exceed $1 billion.
• Leaving Guantanamo: Bahrainis Protest Prison
  In Bahrain, a fledgling human rights community, some members of parliament, and New York defense lawyers, are trying to secure the release of three Bahrainis held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The men have been held at the remote military base for more than four years.
• Drug Cocktail Kills Dozens of People in Midwest
  In major cities, a powerful street drug concoction of heroin or cocaine and the painkiller fentanyl is proving deadly. In Wayne County, Mich., which includes the city of Detroit, dozens of people have died from the combination since November, with several in the past week.
• Close Race to Be Oakland's Next Mayor
  Shifting racial demographics, illegal immigration and a soaring homicide rate are some of the factors in the mayoral race of Oakland, Calif. As outgoing Mayor Jerry Brown focuses on running for state attorney general, most voters will choose between an icon of the African-American community and a well-known Latino city councilman.
• A Chance Encounter with the Blues
  One day, musicologist John Work happened to record an obscure street singer's blues talent. Discovering that field recording leads commentator Bruce Nemerov to reflect on how the blues were marketed before World War II.
• VA Reassures Veterans on Stolen Personal Data
  The Department of Veterans Affairs has set up an emergency call center for veterans who think their personal data may have been exposed after a burglary earlier this month. The Social Security numbers and birth dates of about 26.5 million veterans were stolen from a VA employee’s home. Veterans' organizations are calling for an investigation.

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