Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Young Lutheran pastors rebuild their lives after Haiti tragedy
  Eleven months after the earthquake in Haiti, Renee Splichal Larson is doing what she and her husband had hoped to do together: serve a Lutheran congregation. Benjamin Larson died when the orphanage where he was staying with his wife and cousin collapsed.3:45 p.m.
• Muslims in St. Cloud seek their own cemetery
  When 20-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim's father died of a stroke in February, he learned that leaders at the mosque in St. Cloud could not help his family. They ended up burying his father about 60 miles away in Willmar.5:20 p.m.
• Young Lutheran pastors rebuild their lives after Haiti tragedy
  Eleven months after the earthquake in Haiti, Renee Splichal Larson is doing what she and her husband had hoped to do together: serve a Lutheran congregation. Benjamin Larson died when the orphanage where he was staying with his wife and cousin collapsed.5:45 p.m.
• The Dinner Party Download featuing Sofia Coppola
  This week on the Dinner Party Download, an icebreaker from Damon Gough, small talk with Jezebel.com editor Jessica Coen, and a chat with writer and director Sofia Coppola.6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Jimmy Stewart Museum Needs A Bailout
  Just as Bailey Building and Loan fought to keep its doors open in It's a Wonderful Life, the Jimmy Stewart Museum is struggling to stay afloat. The museum in Indiana, Pa., has seen a drop in attendance and state funding over the years.
• Chefs Get Nostalgic Over Favorite Holiday Dishes
  NPR asked four chefs to divulge the dish that most reminds them of the holidays. Atlanta-based food chemist Shirley Corriher says her favorite is her grandmother's sweet potato pudding, while Dorie Greenspan thinks fondly of gingerbread cookies -- and what happened when her son was young.
• Kent Tritle: One Man, Three Messiahs
  One of the musical staples of every Christmas season is George Frederic Handel’s 1742 oratorio, Messiah. Every Christmas, New York musician Kent Tritle is heavily involved with the production, in many different ways.
• As Germany Ends Draft, Fears Of A Labor Shortage
  Germany's government has announced plans to scrap compulsory military service and optional community service. That's left many social service agencies deeply worried. They rely on the 90,000 conscripts who opt for the alternative community service.
• For U.S. Troops, Another Christmas In Iraq
  This is the eighth Christmas that American troops have spent in Iraq. And they've got one more to go, should the U.S. stay true to its promise to withdraw all troops by the end of next year. NPR's Kelly McEvers paid a visit to troops of the 1st Infantry Division in northern Iraq to see what the war sounds like this Christmas.
• Week In Politics
  NPR's Robert Siegel speaks to Reihan Salam, a blogger at National Review and policy adviser at Economics 21; and Cynthia Tucker, a columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• 'Biutiful': Tragedy And Addiction In Barcelona
  Filmmaker Alejandro Gonzales Inaritu -- who made Babel and 21 Grams -- has now made a tragedy, a story of people who are struggling in Barcelona. They're struggling with cancer, with bipolar disorder, with drug addiction and with poverty. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Gonzales Inaritu about the new film, Biutiful, which stars Javier Bardem.
• Tensions High 2 Years Since Launch Of Gaza War
  It's been two years since the Gaza War was launched -- and tensions are high on both sides of the border since a spate of tit-for-tat violence over the past few weeks. The head of Israel's military has warned the Israeli parliament that the border between Gaza and Israel is a tinderbox. Hamas says it's not responsible for the uptick in rocket attacks, but Israel says it's accountable for violence directed at Israel.
• The Year In Sports
  NPR's Robert Siegel talks with sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about the big sports events of the past year.
• Rare Find: A $30,000 Bottle Of Wine
  Eric Renaud, the senior sommelier at Bern's Steakhouse in Tampa, Fla., recently found a double magnum 1947 bottle of Chateau Latour. The restaurant priced it at $30,000. Renaud talks to NPR's Robert Siegel about this rare find.

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