Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Willmar entrepreneur is part of growing Somali population
  The west-central community of Willmar is becoming increasingly diverse. Census data from 2000 shows Willmar had the third largest Latino population in Minnesota. Now, it also has a rapidly-growing Somali population.4:49 p.m.
• Symphonic alley intended to frustrate and challenge residents
  North Dakota State University students are turning a Fargo, N.D. alley into a soundscape designed to challenge perceptions about those places we avoid.4:54 p.m.
• Franken has list of 6,400 rejected ballots
  Democrat Al Franken's campaign says it has lists of more than 6,400 rejected absentee ballots in the Minnesota Senate race. It will press the state canvassing board to consider the rejected absentee ballots when the board meets tomorrow.5:17 p.m.
• New Minneapolis clinic uses unique design
  Minnesota Public Radio's medical analyst, Dr. Jon Hallberg, recently opened the Mill City Clinic in Minneapolis. The clinic uses unique design elements in order to create a more comfortable environment. Hallberg joined Tom Crann to talk about what is new and unique about his facility, both inside and out.5:24 p.m.
• MnDOT questioned about Wakota bridge delays
  MnDOT officials acknowledged Tuesday the Wakota bridge in the southeastern metro is the most delayed and over-budget road project in Minnesota history. The end may finally be in sight.5:51 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Gates To Continue As Obama's Defense Secretary
  President-elect Barack Obama will keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates in that job for up to a year, NPR sources and news organizations say. Gates, who has been President Bush's defense secretary for two years, is respected by both parties.
• Explaining TALF (Less A Haircut)
  In announcing its plan to fight the ongoing financial crisis, the Federal Reserve's statement was near-incomprehensible to those uninitiated in economic jargon. The Fed's statement talked about TALF, FRBNY and made reference to a haircut.
• Ford Exec: 'We Are Sensitive To Public Opinion'
  Executive Chairman William Ford tells NPR that the automaker went to Congress last week to ask for a line of credit, but had hoped to "never need to use it." He also said the company is taking a look at the CEO's compensation and the company's plane operation.
• In Present Economic Crisis, Echoes Of 1932
  For one old enough to have been around at the time, there's a certain feeling of 1932 in the air. Then, as now, the preceding years had been marked by regulatory laxity that contributed to a Wall Street crash followed by an economic downturn.
• Bin Laden's Ex-Driver To Return To Yemen
  The Bush administration has decided to allow Salim Ahmed Hamdan, convicted of aiding al-Qaida, to serve out the remainder of his sentence in his native Yemen. Tried before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay in August, Hamdan was sentenced to five and a half years, but with time served, had only four months to go.
• Baseball's Pirates Turn To India For New Farmhands
  It took an enterprising promoter and a contest to find a "Million Dollar Arm" to produce Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh, the newest farmhands for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jeff Bernstein, the promoter responsible for all this, talks about the players.
• Holder May Have Had Bigger Role In Rich Pardon
  Eric Holder, president-elect Barack Obama's reported pick for attorney general, had a bigger role than previously disclosed in the pardon for Marc Rich by President Clinton. George Lardner, the author of an op-ed piece in Saturday's New York Times about Holder's role in the pardon, offers his insight.
• Judge Uses Barney As Punishment For Noise
  A judge in Fort Lupton, Colo., has found a novel way to punish young noise offenders. Judge Paul Sacco is making them pay the requisite fine and making them face his own list of songs they're guaranteed to hate, including Barry Manilow and Barney the purple dinosaur.
• GM Collapse Would Devastate Ohio Village
  If GM were to fail, one of the hardest-hit places would be Lordstown, Ohio. Over the summer, the village learned it would be the site for the Chevy Cruze in 2010, but the concern now is whether GM will be around to make the Cruze without a bailout.
• With Sharper Image's Demise, A Way Of Life Gone
  With the company's end went something more than a tenant for the retail space next to the Lane Bryant down the mall. With it went a certain, purely American idea: That no matter what happened, we'd always have enough extra money to spend on useless nonsense, as long as it had an LCD display.
• Treasury Unveils New Plan To Bolster Markets
  The Bush administration and the Federal Reserve have unveiled a stepped up plan to fight the ongoing financial crisis. The Fed is committing as much as $600 billion to shore-up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Fed and Treasury are also moving to get the economy going again by putting up to $200 billion to work in secondary markets for consumer lending.
• Obama Names Pick For OMB
  President-elect Obama has held his second news conference in as many days, naming Peter Orzag as his nominee for director of the Office of Management and Budget. Obama pledged that his team would scrutinize the budget for excesses even as they added programs to stimulate the economy.
• Lessons From Tenn., A Southern GOP Stronghold
  Although Barack Obama carried North Carolina and Virginia, other parts of the South remained solidly red. Residents of one Tennessee county say the GOP can regain its strength nationwide by focusing on core conservative values.
• Florida Judge Rules Against Gay Adoption Ban
  A Miami judge rules that there is no rational, scientific or moral reason that sexual orientation should be a barrier to adopting children, finalizing the adoption of two siblings by their gay foster father.
• Mexican Remittances Fall As U.S. Jobs Are Slashed
  Mexicans working in the U.S. are being hit hard by the economic slowdown. That is hurting their home country, as remittances are Mexico's second-largest source of foreign currency. Officials are planning for a wave of reverse migration that could be in the millions, as U.S. jobs are slashed.

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories

Become a Sponsor