Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• New business slow to move in around Target Field
  For the past several years, downtown Minneapolis has seen healthy condominium construction and commercial growth. But the souring economy has muted the development boom.5:20 p.m.
• Metro home market shows improvement
  Twin Cities housing statistics are showing some signs of improvement, according to area realtor associations. But experts say the numbers do not necessarily suggest the region's housing market is getting healthier.5:24 p.m.
• After 85 years, protecting refuge still a challenge
  The Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge turns 85 this month, and biologists are still hard at work to protect it.5:50 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Special Forces Travel A Difficult Road In Afghanistan
  On a recent patrol in western Afghanistan, U.S. Special Forces spent more time rebuilding villages than battling enemy fighters. It's an attempt to win the confidence and loyalty of locals, and to counter the influence of the Taliban.
• Arrests Made In Sale Of American Indian Artifacts
  Federal agents in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico arrested two dozen people Wednesday morning in a crackdown on the sale of ancient Indian artifacts allegedly stolen from federal and tribal land, NPR has learned.
• Buck Up: Life Lessons From Young Heroines
  When the stock market crashed, writer Lizzie Skurnick turned to her childhood bookcase, where she found a bunch of girls who learned to survive life's downsizing. Here are three heroines whose belt-tightening serves as great advice.
• U.S. Backs Shareholder Voice In Exec Pay
  The Obama administration is taking new steps to regulate executive pay. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Wednesday the government will not directly limit compensation, but he did announce the administration will ask Congress to give shareholders a voice in pay levels and to provide a firewall between company management and executive compensation committees.
• Home Equity Loans Complicate Mortgage Assistance
  Most people facing foreclosure hold a mortgage owned by investors and a home equity loan owned by a bank. But with foreclosures at record levels, some investors worry that the banks have some conflicts of interest getting in the way of helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.
• Chinese Internet Filter Spurs Criticism
  All new computers sold in China after July 1 must contain new software called that filters out a list of Web sites banned by the government. Jonathan Zittrain, professor of law at Harvard Law School and co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, says the Chinese want to block politically and socially sensitive sites, as well as pornography.
• Irish Question Catholic Identity After Abuse Report
  In Ireland, a report into child abuse in schools and orphanages run by Roman Catholic religious orders has renewed debate over the power the church wields in Irish society — especially in the field of education. The report found a shocking level of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
• Bill Gives FDA Control Over Tobacco
  The Senate is expected to pass legislation soon that would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products and advertising, as well as limit flavorings. But the bill doesn't allow the FDA to ban tobacco or the most popular flavoring, menthol.
• Health Care Overhaul Opponents Use Selective Stats
  Opponents of Congress' health care overhaul plan often cite a statistic that a public plan would result in over 100 million people losing their private insurance. But the writers of the oft-cited report say the number of people who would join a public insurance plan varies dramatically depending on how that plan is designed.
• Abortion Terminology Analyzed
  NPR's Julie Rovner says that in 2003 while covering the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act, she discovered that the term late-term abortion didn't mean anything medically. She says doctors refer to term as the end of a pregnancy. So late-term would mean after a pregnancy is complete. Rovner says this leads doctors to talk simply about late abortions.

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