Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Delivering windmills
  Dock workers in Duluth are getting used to handling a challenging new cargo: windmills for wind farms in Minnesota and North Dakota. Business in windmills is booming -- despite inconsistent federal support.4:50 p.m.
• Couple wants to preserve historic battle site
  A group has organized to recognize the last battle site in the 1862 U.S.-Dakota Conflict. The landowners are willing to open the scene of the Wood Lake battle to the public.4:54 p.m.
• Rodriguez sentenced to death
  The jury has decided Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. should be executed for the kidnapping and death of college student Dru Sjodin.5:20 p.m.
• On the death penalty
  Tom Crann talks with former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger about the federal death penalty.5:24 p.m.
• DeLaSalle gets OK for field on Nicollet Island
  DeLaSalle High School's bid for an athletic field on Nicollet Island has won approval from the Minneapolis city council.5:49 p.m.
• State Troopers leave North Minneapolis
  More than a dozen Minnesota State Troopers assigned to work alongside Minneapolis Police through the summer will return to the highways this weekend. MPR's Tom Crann talks with one of the troopers about crime on the city's North side.5:54 p.m.
• Ethanol makers search for cheaper raw material
  There could be a major change underway in how ethanol is made. Several companies want to start producing the alcohol fuel from plant fiber. Most ethanol now is made from corn. How likely is the transition to what's called cellulose ethanol?6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Congress Adjusts to Detainee Deal
  The rebellious Senate Republicans and the White House may have come to an agreement on language on how to treat detainees. But it remains to be seen where the Democrats stand -- or how the deal will be received in the House of Representatives.
• Detainee Deal and the Upcoming Midterm Elections
  The wrangling over a terrorism bill has heated up as midterm elections near. Melissa Block talks live with political commentators E.J. Dionne, columnist for The Washington Post, and David Brooks, columnist for The New York Times.
• Miami Paper Criticized for Firing Anti-Castro Pundits
  The Miami Herald, which fired three reporters who took money for appearing on the anti-Castro broadcasts Radio and TV Marti, is feeling a backlash for its actions. Miami's anti-Castro community say the firings prove the Herald is in Castro's pocket.
• Orwell on Writing: 'Clarity Is the Remedy'
  Most people these days think of George Orwell as the author of high school reading staples Animal Farm and 1984. But author Lawrence Wright says that Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language," is the piece of writing to which he most often returns.
• Branson Outlines Plan to Funnel Billions into Green Energy
  Richard Branson has promised that the Virgin Group, which he chairs, will invest $3 billion to combat global warming. Branson says 100 percent of the profits made by his transportation and airline businesses will be invested into finding renewable and sustainable energy sources. Melissa Block talks with Branson.
• Century-Old Race Riot Still Resonates in Atlanta
  On Sept. 22, 1906, thousands of whites in Atlanta joined together downtown and began attacking and killing the city's blacks. Dozens were murdered in violence that continued for four days. But the riot hasn't been commemorated or taught in schools — until now.
• Mosques Update Approach to Ramadan Planning
  After centuries of relying on actual sightings of the moon to determine the start of Ramadan, many mosques in the United States are switching to a more scientific method, relying on astronomical calculations to determine the advent of the new moon. Many Muslims say the move will remove some of the uncertainty in planning for their holy month celebrations.
• 'Science of Sleep' Straddles a Dreaming Life
  The new film The Science of Sleep is director Michel Gondry's fantasy tale about a young man who begins to lose himself in the area between waking life and his dreams.
• Nasrallah Makes Public Speech; First Since July
  In Beirut, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah appeared in public for the first time since the Israeli offensive in July and the 34-day conflict that followed. Nasrallah, addressing hundreds of thousands of supporters, claimed that Hezbollah has more than 20,000 rockets.
• U.S. Military, Sadr's Militia, Eye One Another
  Tensions are rising again between the U.S. military and the Mehdi Army, the Shiite militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The militia is growing increasingly powerful in Baghdad, and it is accused of running death squads out of Iraq's Interior Ministry.

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