Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Q&A: How to prepare your garden
  Following an unseasonably warm spring, sprouts and buds are already appearing in some parts of Minnesota. Is there a right time to plant or does it depend on what the weather is like in a given year?4:45 p.m.
• 3 sheriffs try virtual consolidation of dispatchers
  Three western Minnesota counties are combining their 911 dispatch efforts in the interests of efficiency.4:49 p.m.
• Minnesota Sounds and Voices: Jane Belau's piano soothes Mayo patients
  Jane Belau volunteers her time every Monday and Thursday morning to play the piano in the Mayo Clinic's Gonda Building lobby. Her music entices others to sing and dance, as well as lift the spirits of patients.4:52 p.m.
• Voter ID bill headed to Senate floor
  The Minnesota Senate is set to vote on a measure that would ask voters to change the state constitution to require people to show photo identification to vote.5:20 p.m.
• Minneapolis cab drivers nervous after gun incidents
  Some Minneapolis cab drivers say incidents of violence have left them feeling scared. Last week a driver was shot and killed. Another this week was beaten and robbed at gunpoint.5:24 p.m.
• Q&A: Councilman Samuels on tornado recovery
  It's been ten months since a tornado tore through north Minneapolis causing more than $16 million in damage to public infrastructure. City Council Member Don Samuels, who represents much of that area, speaks with MPR News.5:53 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Shooting Suspect Remains Cornered In Toulouse
  Police in Toulouse, France, surrounded a building where they said they had cornered the suspect in seven deadly shootings. The victims included four Jews and two Muslims and highlighted issues of racism in France.
• As Illegal Immigrants Increase, Israel Plans To Act
  Israel has become a destination for migrants from Africa in recent years, and now Israeli authorities are planning to crack down on those in the country without permission. Israel is building a fence along its southern border with Egypt as well as a large detention facility that will hold more than 10,000.
• Romney Adviser's 'Etch A Sketch' Comment Draws Flak From Rivals
  Despite Mitt Romney's big win in Illinois, his campaign is on the defensive Wednesday after one of his senior advisers told CNN: "I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It's almost like an Etch A Sketch — you can kind of shake it up and we start all over again."
• Spacecraft's Wild Ride To Mercury Yields Surprises
  Researchers are finding surprises in data from the planet nearest the sun. Among them: a crater with a base that's been lifted up higher than the rim, and new details on Mercury's core.
• Preview Of Women's Basketball 'Sweet Sixteen'
  Audie Cornish talks with Tom Goldman about the women's NCAA basketball tournament. The field has been narrowed down to 16 teams.
• Lots Of GOP Money Flowing From The Texas Two
  The latest Federal Election Commission reports shed new light on the political largesse of two Texas businessmen. One has contributed to three active GOP presidential candidates, including a new $1 million check to the superPAC backing Rick Santorum. The other just gave $3 million more to Mitt Romney's superPAC.
• Why Obama Hasn't Won The Battle Over Messaging About Health Care Law
  As the nation's sweeping health care overhaul heads to the Supreme Court, public opinion about the policies remains almost as divided as it was when President Obama signed it into law two years ago.
• U.N. Security Council Approves Annan's Syria Plan
  Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan got a boost from the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday as he tries to resolve the crisis in Syria. The Council endorsed his six point plan for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid and a political process. At the State Department, Secretary Hillary Clinton called it a positive step and urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to commit to the peace plan or face increasing pressure.
• Review: 'Hope: A Tragedy'
  A new novel from Shalom Auslander includes among its characters, Anne Frank. In Hope: A Tragedy, she survived the Holocaust and is discovered hiding in the attic of a house in rural New York state being rented by the book's main character. Alan Cheuse, a writing teacher at George Mason University, has a review.
• Reggae In The U.K.: A Steady Force
  As long as there has been reggae, there has been U.K. reggae. But the way the Jamaican sound has filtered into the British pop mainstream hasn't always favored the black musicians who created or imported the style.

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