Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• MnDOT hiring of minority contractors declines again
  New MnDOT statistics show the number of minorities and women on state road and bridge construction projects has declined from last year.4:45 p.m.
• Court rules Duluth free to change city retiree benefits
  A state court has sided with the City of Duluth in a long-standing dispute over the generous health benefits provided to hundreds of retired city workers.4:49 p.m.
• Bill McGuire donates $41M worth of butterflies to Fla. university
  On Tuesday, lepidoptra researchers at the University of Florida learned they're about to get millions more specimens to study, and they're getting them from prominent Minnesotan Dr. William McGuire.4:53 p.m.
• Guard soldier from Walker killed in Afghanistan
  An Army National Guard soldier from Walker is being remembered as a young man who was proud to be in the military.5:20 p.m.
• Two Harbors Marine remembered
  A Marine from Two Harbors, Minn., who was killed last week in Afghanistan, is being remembered as a warm and dedicated soldier and friend.5:22 p.m.
• Pawlenty wants more troops in Afghanistan; knocks Obama on spending
  As Gov. Tim Pawlenty speaks out against government spending by the Obama administration, he supports sending more troops to Afghanistan, a proposition that also carries a hefty price tag.5:24 p.m.
• Pawlenty offers his prescription for health reform
  On the same day a U.S. Senate committee approved a sweeping health care reform bill, Gov. Tim Pawlenty unveiled his own more modest plan he says will rein in health care costs in Minnesota.5:50 p.m.
• Cargill using soybeans to lower oil use in foam
  Cargill, the Minnetonka-based agricultural giant makes a soybean-based chemical used to produce furniture-grade foam, reducing the need for petroleum to make the foam we sit and sleep on.5:54 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• In New Orleans, Uneven Recovery Awaits Obama
  President Obama will visit New Orleans Thursday to review recovery efforts more than four years after Hurricane Katrina. Residents say much of the city remains in survival mode. But by most accounts, the pace of recovery has improved under the Obama administration.
• A Mission To Save Real Jewish Delis, A Dying Breed
  Save the Deli author David Sax aims to preserve and celebrate the Jewish delicatessen. He has traveled across North America in search of the best examples of that endangered culinary species — and says there are certain rules patrons should follow to enjoy the intense meat flavors. Ben's Best in Queens, N.Y., is a rare surviving example.
• Health Insurance Help For Laid-Off Workers May End
  If you have ever lost a job and the health benefits that went with it, you have probably heard of COBRA, the program that requires employers to extend your health coverage for a price. That price, however, is one that all but a fraction of laid-off workers find much too high. The federal stimulus bill has helped some workers by lowering those payments, but that help may soon run out.
• Anti-Graft Crusade A Dangerous Business In Russia
  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has urged the public to help fight endemic corruption in the country. But in Khimki, a suburb of Moscow, journalists and civil rights activists who were investigating allegations of local corruption have been brutally attacked in the past year.
• A Jazz Big Band Worth Blogging About
  Darcy James Argue leads the 18-piece jazz ensemble Secret Society, which he describes as "steampunk." He also writes one of the jazz world's most popular blogs. And, thanks to his fans and readers, Argue was able to make his first album.
• A Guilty Venture Into Baseball 'Fantasyland'
  Most fantasy baseball books have no plot, no dialogue, no women — which is just fine with Tony Horwitz. But when Horwitz wants a little story with his stats, he picks up Fantasyland, by Sam Walker.
• Debate Over H1N1 Vaccine? There Shouldn't Be One
  The new vaccine against pandemic H1N1 influenza, commonly known as "swine flu," should soon become widely available across the country. Commentator Douglas Kamerow, a family physician and former assistant surgeon general, has a simple answer for the "immunize or not" question.
• Offshore Account Deadline Nears
  An amnesty deal for Americans seeking to come clean about income hidden in offshore accounts expires Thursday. Barbara Kaplan, the head of the New York tax practice at the law firm Greenberg Traurig, says her firm represents close to 100 people who are taking advantage of the government's offer.
• Letters: Ostrom
  Listeners criticize Monday's interview with Elinor Ostrom, one of the people who won the Nobel Prize for economics. Ostrom is the only woman to win the prize, and many listeners objected to the interview's focus on her gender, rather than her work.
• In Israel, Kibbutz Life Undergoes Reinvention
  For years, the kibbutz movement in Israel has been struggling. Now, fewer than 5 percent of Israelis live in the communal settlements. But from the ashes, some Israelis are trying to take the old movement in a new direction.

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