Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• A demand for a refund becomes a novel
  In Jonathan Miles new book, a complaint letter becomes a 160 page novel that explores the ideas of fate, fatherhood and being trapped in an airport after a cancelled flight4:50 p.m.
• Minnesota is one of 10 mortgage fraud 'hotspots'
  Federal officials say Minnesota is among 10 mortgage fraud hotspots they're investigating around the nation. More than 400 real estate industry players, nationwide, have been indicted since March in a Justice Department crackdown on incidents of mortgage fraud, that stem from the country's housing crisis.5:20 p.m.
• Using measles to treat cancer
  Researchers today know more about the measles than ever, and doctors are using that knowledge to develop new treatments for certain cancers. The first step is to understand how the measles virus infects its host.5:24 p.m.
• College textbook rental coming to Minnesota
  College students hope renting, rather than buying, will help solve the problem of ever-increasing textbook costs.5:54 p.m.
• Summertime means plans for kids
  When the school year winds down, there are thousands of children and teenagers thinking about summer. As parents work to find things for their kids to do, many turn to city parks and libraries for safe, structured activities.6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Movie Review: <em>Love Guru</em>, <em>Get Smart</em>
  Two comedies are opening at the multiplex this week, starring two big-name comedians with very different styles. Mike Myers's Love Guru is coarse and vulgar. Steve Carrell's Get Smart, is amusing.
• Teens Retrace Epic Canoe Trip
  Michele Norris talks to Colton Witte and Sean Bloomfield, two Minnesota teens who canoed 2,250 miles from the Twin Cities to Hudson Bay to retrace journalist Eric Sevareid's 1930 trip. They were inspired by Sevareid's memoir, "Caneoing with the Cree."
• NASA Lander Touches Ice on Mars
  For the first time, a NASA lander has touched Martian ice. Scientists say they are convinced white chunks dug up by the Phoenix craft are in fact frozen water on the Red Planet.
• Remembering Seattle's Edith Macefield
  Edith Macefield of Seattle's Ballard neighborhood passed away this week. She refused offers of big money to leave her tiny house and make way for a big development. In the process, she became something of a folk hero. Michele Norris talks to Barry Martin, who was Macefield's friend.
• Potty Reading Promoted
  A publisher of bathroom readers — compilations of stories, poems, essays and funny quotes — came to Madison Square Park's public toilet in Manhattan, to give out free quarters and to promote the books for Bathroom Reading Month.
• Cheap Gas in Mexico Lures U.S. Motorists
  With gas prices now topping $4 a gallon in much of the United States, some are taking advantage of cheap fuel across the border in Mexico. Big pickups with Texas plates are streaming across the border into Mexico to fill up with cheap gas.
• Teens May Have Made Pact to Get Pregnant
  At least 17 teenagers at a Massachusetts high school may have made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Michele Norris talks with Time magazine's Kathleen Kingsbury about the unusual spike in teen pregnancies in Gloucester.
• Despite Claim, No Major 527 Group Against Obama
  Sen. Barack Obama this week blamed his decision to reject public financing on 527 groups that work on behalf of John McCain. Jonathan Martin of Politico says there really aren't any major 527s working against Obama. Michele Norris talks to Martin.
• Floods Affect Barges and Rails
  The flooding this month in the Midwest has caused some major commercial delays. Nearly 300 miles of the Mississippi River are off-limits to barges. The closing of the Mississippi is costing some barge operators upward of a $1 million a day.
• Young Indians Fight Restrictions on Alcohol
  Attitudes are dramatically shifting in India where young beer- and wine drinkers are taking on what they call the "morality police" who impose strict restrictions on the consumption of alcohol. Among them is Suketu Talekar, who is setting up his own microbrewery.
• Independently Owned Gas Stations Face Hard Times
  Bill Burke is the owner of Burke's Den Rock Mobil, an independently owned Exxon Mobil station in North Andover, Mass. He says he and his wife are facing the harsh reality of closing their gasoline retail business after 35 years.
• Preventing the Next Natural Disaster
  Gerald E. Galloway, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland, is a retired Army brigadier general. He talks about the state of the levee system of the upper Mississippi River, and things that can be done to prevent the next natural disaster. Michele Norris talks to Galloway.
• More Than 400 Held in FBI Mortgage Sweep
  The FBI says it has arrested more than 400 people in the last three months on charges related to mortgage fraud. Agents have arrested real estate agents and others. On Thursday, the FBI arrested two Bear Stearns investment fund managers. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston and Michelle Norris discuss the arrests.
• Latinos Hard-Hit by Mortgage Crisis
  The wave of foreclosures spreading around the country is hitting Latinos especially hard. Many Hispanic homeowners could only qualify for subprime loans. Now as foreclosures mount, crime is up and businesses are struggling.
• McClellan: White House Could Have Been More Open
  Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan told the House Judiciary Committee Friday the White House could have avoided a lot of criticism and loss of faith by being more open about its reasons for invading Iraq.

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