Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Video: Foster care for fowl
  From Chicago to Houston to South Portland, Maine, the urban chicken movement has taken hold. More and more city folks are raising the birds right in their own backyards.3:48 p.m.
• Minnesota reports 3 more deaths from H1N1
  Three more Minnesota residents have died from complications of the swine flu, including two children less than 7 years old. All three had underlying health conditions.4:45 p.m.
• New flu hotline seeing heavy usage
  Long wait times or busy signals have been reported one day after Minnesota health officials launched a new flu phone line for people who think they might be sick.4:46 p.m.
• Thousands of health care workers skip flu shots
  There are thousands of health care workers in Minnesota who don't get a flu shot. That could put patients at risk for not only seasonal flu, but also the H1N1 virus.4:48 p.m.
• Minneapolis officials spread the word on ranked-choice voting
  Minneapolis elections officials are trying to get residents ready for the new ranked-choice voting system they'll see on Election Day next month. They've been holding public meetings, but so far only a handful of people have shown up.5:21 p.m.
• Video: How instant runoff voting works with multiple winners
  When you apply instant runoff voting to an election with multiple winners, things get complicated.5:25 p.m.
• 'The Walworth Farce' brings a darkly comic look at family life
  The Druid Theater, one of Ireland's best known companies is in the Twin Cities this week to present "The Walworth Farce," a twisted take on family life.5:47 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Pay Czar Outlines Compensation Limits
  Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury Department's special master for compensation, says compensation limits on seven companies that received the government bailout are a bid to dampen public outrage over large Wall Street pay packages, as well as a way to strengthen the companies. Under the plan, the firms will have to halve total compensation for their top executives.
• Accidents Of History Created U.S. Health System
  Since the 1960s, Americans have looked at employer-based health insurance as though it were the natural order of things. But economic historians say there was never any central logic at work in building that system.
• More Colleges Turn To Uncle Sam For Student Loans
  If President Obama's plan to change the student loan system passes the Senate, college students will get loans directly from the federal government instead of private lenders. More than 500 colleges have already made the switch in the past year. Consumer banks aren't happy about it.
• An Indian Reservation As Economic Engine?
  Despite the recession, the Salt River reservation near Phoenix is booming. It's partly from stimulus money, but the reservation is also drawing investors looking to make a quick return. The Pima-Maricopa Indian Community has parlayed casino revenue into a diverse and dynamic economy.
• Violence In Rio Raises Olympic Security Concerns
  Weeks after Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Olympics, a turf battle between drug gangs has killed two dozen people, including three police officers. The gang warfare raises questions about Rio's ability to control the violence that has plagued its sprawling slums for years.
• Cheese, Wimpy Kids And The Perils Of Middle School
  Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series centers on a smart-mouthed sad sack named Greg Heffley who just can't seem to win.
• Mira Nair, Discovering A Very Modern 'Amelia'
  The director of Monsoon Wedding knew Amelia Earhart as an icon, but as she researched her new biographical drama, she discovered a woman with an intriguingly iconoclastic streak -- and a surprising sense of humility. Nair talks to Melissa Block about heroes, heritage and trying to make a large-scale studio film feel satisfyingly personal.
• Panel: NASA Should Skip Moon
  An independent panel convened by the White House says NASA's plan to revisit the moon is the wrong mission with the wrong rocket. The panel's chair, Norman Augustine, said a NASA mission to a nearby asteroid or one of the moons of Mars could be done sooner than returning to the moon in 15 years as NASA has outlined. Michele Norris Nell Greenfieldboyce
• Some Parents Wary Of 'Wimpy Kid' Series
  Not everybody is enthusiastic about the Wimpy Kid series. Some parents feel uneasy about their children identifying with a main character who is at times selfish and lazy, and whose hijinks often land him in trouble. Tanya Turek, a mother of three who works in the children's department of a Barnes and Noble, has blogged about the series.
• Cash For Seniors Proposal Touches Off Dispute
  A White House proposal to give every Social Security recipient a check for $250 next year has provoked a debate over whether seniors really should be given the extra help. Critics say the proposal will just run up the deficit, while others say seniors need help to counter things like rising health care costs.

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