Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Art Hounds: Dhvee, Marisol and Hope Sandoval
  This week's Art Hounds are on the trail of an epic Indian/Indonesian dance at the Walker, a play about guardian angels confronting a dying god and a familiar 90s alt rock voice making a swing through Minneapolis.4:44 p.m.
• The St. Croix River: A legacy of protection
  The upper St. Croix River is protected from development by the National Park Service. It's unusual for a river so close to a major metropolitan area to have such a special designation.4:50 p.m.
• Board extends nickname deadline for Fighting Sioux
  The North Dakota board of higher education is offering new hope to supporters of the Fighting Sioux nickname.4:55 p.m.
• Pawlenty's PAC team includes former Bush, McCain advisers
  A team of Republican consultants with experience on the presidential level will help run Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's new political action committee.5:20 p.m.
• Local inventors frustrated over patent office bureaucracy
  Inventors like Bill Kurtz, seen here holding brochures for some of his inventions, are frustrated at the backlog of ideas awaiting approval from the U.S. Patent Office, which last quarter rejected more than half of all the patents it reviewed.5:24 p.m.
• Childhood poverty rates on the rise
  A new report on child welfare in Minnesota predicts the number of children in poverty will jump by a one-third over the course of the current recession. The report says the economic downturn will leave a long and troubling legacy.5:52 p.m.
• Coens' new film 'A Serious Man' opens this weekend
  Tomorrow, one of the most highly-anticipated Minnesota film events in years finally arrives: the release of the new Coen brothers movie, "A Serious Man." The film is the first the Coens have set in Minnesota since "Fargo."5:55 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• ACORN Donations Dwindle In Wake Of Videos
  ACORN, the troubled anti-poverty group, is fighting to survive. Its government funding is threatened, and so is the money it receives from foundations and other donors. Several major funders say that they've ended or are reassessing ties with the group.
• Seniors Worry As Medicare Advantage Is Threatened
  About 25 percent of senior citizens are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, where they can choose a privately run health plan with extra benefits. But some health bills aim to scale back its growth, and seniors worry their coverage might get the ax in the overhaul.
• Exploring The Secret Of China's Economic Success
  As it celebrates 60 years under communist rule, China enjoys a growing economy despite the global recession. Some say the country's authoritarian political system has given it an edge in promoting economic development. But others say policies — not politics — are more important.
• Going Out On A Glissando: BSO Harpist Retires
  For 40 years, harpist Ann Hobson Pilot has given the Boston Symphony an angelic sound. To mark the occasion of her retirement, she introduces a new concerto written for her by composer John Williams.
• 'Superior Donuts': Pulitzer Winner Sets Up New Shop
  In the latest play from Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts, the dispirited proprietor of a family-run doughnut joint tries to hold things together in a slowly gentrifying Chicago neighborhood. But the arrival of a new employee introduces a surprising new dynamic that stirs old passions.
• Indonesia Quake Toll Crosses 1,000
  Rescue workers are trying to find survivors from Wednesday's earthquake that hit Indonesia, killing more than 1,000 people. BBC reporter Rachel Harvey, who is in Padang, a city of 900,000 people, says parts of the city are unaffected while other parts are devastated.
• H1N1 Leads N.C. Hospitals To Ban Young Visitors
  The two main hospital systems in Charlotte, N.C., have banned anyone younger than 18 from visiting patients. Administrators concerned about the spread of swine flu are worried that kids are primary carriers.
• Is Afghan Conflict Akin To Vietnam?
  As White House and Pentagon officials debate the way ahead in Afghanistan, they are looking to Vietnam as a model of what not to do. Lawmakers opposed to sending more troops to Afghanistan have found a perfect term to describe the conflict: quagmire.
• A Soviet Strategy For Afghanistan?
  The Obama administration should shape its Afghan policy around the lessons learned from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's policy in Afghanistan before the Soviet Union's collapse, New Yorker writer Steve Coll says. Coll says Gorbachev pursued a political and diplomatic solution in Afghanistan supported by military means.
• Auto Sales Plummet After Cash For Clunkers
  After a booming August, auto sales collapsed in September. Dealers call it the Cash for Clunkers hangover. They say there are two main reasons for the numbers: The government incentives encouraged some buyers to pull their purchases forward. The other reason: Cash for Clunkers was so popular that when September rolled around, many dealers didn't have enough cars on their lots to meet customers' needs.

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