Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Volunteers face cold, snowy weather to fight flood waters
  What is it like to volunteer to spend 12 or 16-hour days outside sandbagging in the snow and ice? In 1997, kids and students of all ages helped to protect the cities of Fargo and Moorhead. Why do they show up?4:45 p.m.
• Ice storm knocks out power, damages parks in northeast Minn.
  While people in northwestern Minnesota struggle with floodwaters rising on the ground, the northeastern part of the state is coping with a watery assault from above. Three days of freezing rain have coated the landscape with ice that's more than an inch thick in some places.4:50 p.m.
• Fargo prepares for higher Red River crest
  The National Weather Service reports that the Red River will reach a new record crest by the weekend, and local officials are scrambling to add some more height to their dikes.5:16 p.m.
• The volunteer experience
  Thousands of Minnesotans have flocked to the FargoDome over the past few days to help with the sandbagging effort there. Kevan Rehm is just one of them.5:21 p.m.
• Guthrie cuts its budget in wake of revenue problems
  The Guthrie Theater is enacting wage freezes, work furloughs and layoffs in response to an anticipated 14 percent drop in revenue in the coming year.5:25 p.m.
• The geology of the Red River flood plain
  To explain why the Red River seems to spill over its banks with such consistency, we called Don Schwert, a professor of geology at North Dakota State University in Fargo.5:50 p.m.
• New, potentially tougher, chapter for Best Buy
  Richfield-based Best Buy reports its fourth-quarter sales and earnings Thursday, and they're not expected to be very good.5:54 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Pick For NATO Military Leader Rode Navy Fast Track
  If James Stavridis, the top U.S. commander for Latin America and the Caribbean, is confirmed, he'll be the first Navy officer to fill a post traditionally held by Army generals. Defense Secretary Robert Gates calls him "one of the best senior military officers we have."
• Recession Tests Citizens' Patience With Obama
  President Obama says bringing the country out of recession will take "many months and many different solutions." But some Americans may be losing patience with Obama as he struggles to improve the economy.
• A Journey From The Ghetto To The Ivory Tower
  Ron Suskind's A Hope in the Unseen tracks a familiar story — an ambitious kid's escape from the inner city. Author Susan Jane Gilman says Suskind treats his subject with such care that this nonfiction tale has the impact of an epic novel.
• Expert Lauds Obama's Afghanistan Approach
  David Kilcullen, a former senior counterinsurgency adviser to Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq, says the Obama administration's review of Afghanistan has been detailed and sensible. Kilcullen says, however, major changes are needed if the war is to be won.
• As Radio Host, Blagojevich Addresses Ouster
  Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich filled in as host Wednesday for an AM radio talk show. He used the opportunity on the Don Wade & Roma Morning Show to say he was "hijacked" from office. Blagojevich also criticized the new governor's plans for an income tax increase.
• Police Find No-Snitching Rule A Hurdle
  Gang violence in Seattle is on the rise and the body count is going up along with it. Police are running into a problem faced by many departments in urban areas across America: the "no-snitch" rule. Both law enforcement and children are tackling the issue.
• Letters: Mexico, Dry Cleaner
  Listeners respond to the story on the security situation along the border with Mexico, and the interview with the owner of a dry-cleaning store in New York City who is offering free services to unemployed people who are looking for jobs. Robert Siegel reads from listeners comments.
• Conservative Democrats Walk Budget Tightrope
  President Barack Obama's budget proposal is placing conservative Democrats in a tight spot. Republicans are asking them to be fiscally cautious. Liberals are targeting them with a barrage of ads, urging them to support the president's budget.
• Marianne Faithfull Sings The New Golden Era
  Despite a constant flood of new music, people still like to insist it was all better in times past. But Marianne Faithfull, who has survived a bunch of musical decades, recognizes that right now is a golden era of its own. Her new record, Easy Come, Easy Go, is all covers, but alongside old standards are what might be some new staples.
• Tourist Dollars Saying Arrivederci To Italy
  Tourism in Italy dropped 25 percent in 2008 from the previous year and forecasts are even worse for 2009. The decline is not only affecting hotels and restaurants, but is also having an indirect impact on many other industries.

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