Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Cold weather testing is big business
  Frigid temperatures are good news for the state's cold weather testing industry. It's big business in International Falls and several other northern Minnesota communities.4:49 p.m.
• Life as a Jewish partisan
  The new film, "Defiance," tells the story of the Bielski brothers, who led a group of Jewish partisans living in the forests of Belarus during World War II. The film mirrors the experience of a Minnesota couple who fought in another Jewish partisan group in the same forest.4:53 p.m.
• Will the Star Tribune survive its shot at renewal?
  The now bankrupt Star Tribune will try to cut costs and develop a business model that will restore it to profitability, but it's hard to forecast what the Chapter 11 may mean for the Star Tribune.5:20 p.m.
• High school student heads to inauguration
  People around the country are scrambling and scrounging to get tickets for Tuesday's presidential inaugural ceremonies. Not Erik Vergiels. The Fergus Falls high schooler has had his ticket for months.5:50 p.m.
• How past presidents partied
  In some countries, political change comes in the form of coups and bloodshed. In the Untied States, the transition of power is typically marked by dinner and dancing.5:52 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Gifts For The Gods: Food For The Chinese New Year
  A tradition for the Chinese New Year is to leave out food for the kitchen god to ensure a prosperous year. Food writer Grace Young talks about the reasons for putting food on the altar —and some of the recipes her family cooks up, like fried garlic lettuce.
• Title Inflation: How Hollywood Watches Our Wallets
  With money on all our minds, critic Bob Mondello has been looking at movie titles, from Pennies from Heaven to Slumdog Millionaire. Turns out audience wallets and studio marketing seem to stay in sync.
• A B.I.G. Life Writ Large In 'Notorious'
  George Tillman Jr.'s sketch of the life and death of the Notorious B.I.G. looks at how the Brooklyn rapper changed hip-hop. Corey Takahashi takes a look back at the man who would become Biggie Smalls.
• Obama Vows To Create Jobs
  President-elect Barack Obama says his administration's will work to "put people back to work" and revive the economy. During a visit Friday to an Ohio factory that makes parts for wind turbines, Obama cited alternative energy as a sector where jobs can be created.
• Columnists Discuss Obama Meetings
  President-elect Barack Obama met separately this week with conservative and liberal columnists. David Brooks of The New York Times and E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post attended the meetings. Dionne says the meeting was like a seminar on how to be a calm president in the midst of a whole series of crises. Brooks says conservatives at the dinner were impressed with Obama.
• Yes We Can, Yes We Can, Yes We Can!
  Why just write a poem when you can rap a poem? Nikki Giovanni has written an inaugural rap — one she says President-elect Barack Obama might deliver himself.
• Water Landings Part Of Pilot Training
  A day US Airways pilot safely landed a plane on the Hudson River and saved the lives of more than 150 people. Ben Berman, an airline pilot and chief of major investigations for the National Transportation and Safety Board from 2000 to 2001, talks about how pilots are trained to handle bird strikes and water landings.
• Letters: Planes, Butlers, Cold
  Melissa Block and Michele Norris read from listeners' letters about birds and planes, the White House Butler Corps and the cold in North Dakota.
• Life On A Kibbutz, In The Shadow Of Gaza
  Kibbutz Gevim in Israel's Negev desert is two miles from the border with the Gaza Strip. Founded 48 years ago, it is a modest agricultural community, home to about 400 Israelis. One couple is wrestling with the fear of constant rocket attacks and dimming hopes for peace.
• Losses Shake Citigroup, Bank Of America
  Citigroup and Bank of America have been losing money at a furious pace. On Friday, Bank of America received an additional $20 billion from the federal government, and Citigroup said it's breaking into two pieces in an effort to contain its own losses.

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