Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• St Paul author mines the story of a bootlegging relative for novel
  When St Paul writer Mary DesJarlais needed a character for her first novel, she had to go no further than a photograph of her great aunts. She knew one of them made her living as a bootlegger in rural Minnesota during Prohibition.4:45 p.m.
• Sting of reduced gov't. services being felt
  Families are learning they can't visit state prison inmates. Campers have been shut out of state parks. Fourth of July programs at Fort Snelling and other historical sites have been canceled. Even on a holiday, the effects of the shutdown are beginning to penetrate daily life across Minnesota.5:20 p.m.
• Who voters will hold responsible for shutdown
  State government has been largely shut down for four days now. If the shutdown drags on, there may be severe consequences at the polls for some political leaders.5:50 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Fire-Ravaged Southwest Prepares For Rainy Season
  Teams of firefighters and disaster management officials are going into already-burned areas of the Southwest to figure out how to prevent flooding now that the rainy season is beginning. They're looking for debris that's blocking streams — and for areas now devoid of trees that held together the soil.
• The Key To Disaster Survival? Friends And Neighbors
  A researcher's data suggest that ambulances, firetrucks and government aid aren't the principal ways most people survive during and recover after a disaster. Instead, it's the personal ties between members of a community that really matter.
• Letters: Lorenzo Charles
  Michele Norris reads letters from listeners.
• Smartphones Making It Harder To Call It Quits
  For some, smartphones have become digital leashes to the office. They can log on and check in at work from just about anywhere. And while this is good for employers, it's making it harder for employees to disconnect and relax — even when they're on vacation.
• Geocaching: 21st-Century Treasure Hunting
  The sport that took off in 2000, after the government lifted restrictions on access to satellite signals used by the U.S. military, now has millions of participants worldwide. One avid geocacher in Maine says he doesn't think he's obsessed, but says his wife might disagree.
• Chavez Returns To Venezuela
  Just when Venezuelans were talking about President Hugo Chavez's future and thinking about what lies ahead if he doesn't run for reelection, Chavez returned to Caracas after cancer surgery in Cuba. Michele Norris talks with NPR's Juan Forero.
• In Libya, Regional Divide Mirrors Disparities
  In Libya, many supporters of Moammar Gadhafi say the leader has used the country's oil money to provide real benefits to the people, including subsidized housing, free health care and education. Critics say those benefits were unequally distributed, with favored groups around Tripoli and the western part of the country getting the lion's share — and those in the east, around Benghazi, getting the least. They say the country's political divide mirrors an economic one.
• Ex-Homeless Speak Out To Change Perceptions
  A speakers bureau in Washington, D.C., is encouraging people to think about homelessness from a first-person view. "My life was just to survive on the streets," one speaker says.
• Summer Sounds: Firecrackers
  Listener Bev Brown of Georgetown, Texas, tells us about her Summer Sound. Growing up on the plains of southeastern South Dakota, Brown says her father was the Fireworks Man. Every Fourth of July of her childhood, her dad planned and "shot" the Sioux Falls municipal fireworks show.
• Steve Martin Talks About His Fourth Of July Song
  Michele Norris talks with Steve Martin about his Fourth of July song, "Me & Paul Revere," sung from the point of view of the horse. He will perform it live on "A Capitol Fourth" — and for Michele.

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