Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• The 'Flim Flam Man' gets a script reading
  Twin Cities film fans have a unique opportunity on tap. For one night only, a group of local actors will present a staged reading of "Flag Day." It's a screenplay based on Minneapolis writer Jennifer Vogel's award-winning memoir "Flim Flam Man."4:50 p.m.
• Study: Government must do better to protect Mississippi River
  The study released Tuesday by the National Research Council says the state governments and the Environmental Protection Agency should better coordinate efforts to protect the river and the northern Gulf of Mexico.5:20 p.m.
• State of Minnesota settles with Dru Sjodin's family
  Sjodin's family was preparing to sue the state for damages worth more than $1 million. Sjodin was kidnapped and killed almost four years ago by a convicted sex offender who was released from prison a few months before the crime.5:24 p.m.
• A conversation with Maya Angelou
  Noted poet and writer Maya Angelou says she has a "love-hate relationship" with writing, despite her long and distinguished career. She talks with MPR's Kerri Miller.5:50 p.m.
• Defibrillator patients ask doctors about Medtronic failures
  People with Medtronic defibrillators got a jolt this week when the company decided to stop distributing the wires that connect the devices to patients' hearts. MPR's Tom Crann talks with a physician who has been hearing from some of his heart patients about the issue.5:55 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Rockies Win Their First Trip to the World Series
  After a three-game sweep past the Phillies in the first round of the playoffs, the Colorado Rockies blew past the Arizona Diamondbacks with four consecutive wins to clinch the National League Championship and the team's first trip to the World Series.
• Desegregation Plan Criticized by Black Parents
  In the wake of increased scrutiny and a Supreme Court ruling against the use of race in assigning students to schools, the town of Lynn, Mass., is taking a new look at its program. In 1988, the city began a voluntary desegregation program that is now coming under fire from an unusual source: African-American parents.
• House Passes Federal Shield Law
  The House passed a bill Tuesday that would shield journalists from having to reveal confidential sources or documents with a few exceptions — including national security and avoiding imminent death. If enacted, it would be the first federal shield law; such laws already exist in a majority of states.
• Ignore the Noose and Sap Racism's Power
  In light of the resurgence of nooses appearing in places like Jena, La., and Columbia University's Teacher's College, here's a modest proposal: The next time somebody plants a noose, let's just ignore it. Perhaps paying less attention to these acts will take away their racist power.
• Man Lives Off the Fat of His Brooklyn Land
  A lot of people talk about eating locally, but Manny Howard went further. He created a farm in his 20- by 40-foot Brooklyn backyard — with rabbits, chickens, and a host of vegetables — and was determined to spend a month eating only from his land.
• Turkey-Iraq Rift Among Issues Boosting Oil Prices
  The price of oil continues to soar. It now seems to be heading toward $90 a barrel. Traders are citing a number of reasons for the most recent run up, including a standoff between Turkey and Kurds in Iraq.
• Putin Warns Against Aggression in Caspian Region
  The presidents of Russia and Iran met Tuesday in Tehran on the sidelines of a summit of Caspian leaders. In comments aimed at the U.S., the Russian president said he would not accept military aggression against Iran or any state in the Caspian Sea region.
• Reminders of a Mountain Man Who Moved On
  Even years after a neighbor passed away, there is ample evidence of his solitary life in the woods — even in the behavior of the local squirrels.
• The Pulse of a Brain Surgeon's Patient
  A "noise" is no longer an annoyance when it serves a purpose. Brain surgeon James Killefer of Knoxville, Tenn., likes the simple sound in the operating room of the patient's pulse amplified by a special machine. It reminds him that the patient is what it's all about.
• Gift-Free Birthdays: Good Lesson or Just Mean?
  More parents are ditching the birthday gifts and the gift bags for their children in an attempt to regain control over birthday parties that many feel have become expensive, competitive and totally out of control. But plenty of people think the "no-present birthdays" for kids is just plain mean.
• Disease, Politics Permeate 'The Air We Breathe'
  Once a biology student, Andrea Barrett now weaves science through her fiction. In The Air We Breathe, Barrett writes about poor immigrants at a tuberculosis sanatorium in the Adirondacks on the eve of World War I.
• Study Finds Drug-Resistant Bacteria Are Mixing
  The first national analysis of life-threatening, drug-resistant staph infections that are spreading in hospitals and communities across the nation puts pressure on hospitals to do more to prevent the infections. But one leading hospital executive says it's an uphill battle.
• What Happens to Horses as Slaughterhouse Closes?
  DeKalb, Ill., 60 miles west of Chicago, was home to the only plant in the nation that slaughtered horses for human consumption. But Illinois lawmakers banned the practice this year, and the slaughterhouse was shut down. Some horse owners worry that the law might have made things worse.
• Missing Comrades Haunt Homeward-Bound Troops
  With just a few weeks left in Iraq, soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division will likely head back to New York state without Spc. Alex Jimenez and Pvt. Byron Fouty. Their platoon members cope with an aching hollowness — and a lingering bitterness toward the local residents they believe could have prevented their friends' deaths.
• Shaking Down Key Voters on the Streets of Philly
  In a quest to discover this election's version of "Soccer Moms" and "NASCAR Dads," NPR contributor Mo Rocca takes his microphone to the streets of Philadelphia. Rocca talks with Michele Norris about what he found, and we hear from a number of people in potentially desirable demographics.

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