Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Commentary: Nancy Pelosi's new gig
  Nanci Pelosi's election as House speaker today came as no surprise. She's already been making the rounds in Washington, negotiating how a Democratic Congress will share power with a Republican President. Guest commentator Gordon Stewart says there's one image from the past week he can't get out of his mind.5:15 p.m.
• U of M to expand its presence in Rochester
  The U hasn't purchased or leased any buildings yet. President Robert Bruininks says this won't be a traditional campus with housing and a quad.5:18 p.m.
• The slow death of nursing homes
  The number of nursing homes in Minnesota is shrinking. Choices like assisted living apartments have become the preferred housing option for many senior citizens.5:24 p.m.
• A new take on birthday gifts
  A child's birthday party is supposed to be about celebration, but often for the kids it seems to be about the presents. For some parents, the way around that is to make the birthday gifts into birthday donations.5:46 p.m.
• Santana wins second AL Cy Young Award
  Santana received all 28 first-place votes for a perfect total of 140 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Chien-Ming Wang of the New York Yankees finished a distant second.5:50 p.m.
• Money changes everything
  We've heard the sayings: "Money talks." "Money changes everything." Even, "money makes the world go round." It's been said many ways over the years, but new research from the University of Minnesota appears to prove that money -- and even the concept of money -- influences our behavior and interactions with others. For example, in one experiment, people deliberately exposed to the concept of money -- even via a simple word puzzle -- were shown to be less helpful to a person in need. Tom Crann talks about the research with Kathleen Vohs, an assistant professor at the Carlson School of Management at the U, who conducted this research.6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Elected House Speaker, Pelosi Suffers First Defeat
  As expected, House Democrats have elected Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to be the first woman ever to be speaker of the House. But they elected Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland to be majority leader, despite Pelosi's personal endorsement of Rep. John Murtha.
• McConnell Is Senate's New Top Republican
  Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is the new GOP minority leader. Melissa Block talks with McConnell about how his party will adjust to being the minority party. McConnell says that because the Senate's margin is only 51-49, the Republicans can still wield power in shaping legislation.
• System Sees Rise in Medicare Drug Prices, Profits
  As debate continues over whether the U.S. government should negotiate directly with drug makers over Medicare drug prices, we measure how well Americans have been served by the market so far. Medicare drug prices and premiums have gone up during the first year of the benefit, as have profits for drug companies and insurers.
• Kaiser Faces Charges for Dumping Homeless Patient
  Los Angeles city officials file charges against hospital giant Kaiser Permanente for allegedly dumping a homeless patient on Skid Row. A surveillance video cited in the filing shows a taxi dropping off a woman in a hospital gown.
• Wharf's Sea Lion Terrorizes Swimmers
  A sea lion in a San Francisco lagoon has been terrorizing swimmers and has bitten at least 14 people. Experts say the sea lion is either brain-damaged or is protecting his harem of mates. Melissa Block talks with Celeste McMullin, who was bitten by the animal.
• Iran and the U.S., Divided by Stereotypes
  As they debate controls on nuclear development, the United States and Iran labor under stereotypes that shape the discussion. This report comes in advance of Ted Koppel's documentary on the Discovery Channel, Iran. The Most Dangerous Nation. The special airs this Sunday.
• Letters: Catholics and Birth Control; a Dying Father
  Melissa Block reads from listeners' letters and e-mails, including a correction chiding a report that mistakenly identified the Catholic Church's approved method of birth control. There are also responses to Nicole Leblanc's sound portrait of her dying father, and an interview with a high school principal who banned dances at his school.
• Writers Preserve American Landscape Words
  A group of writers has collected more than 800 fading landscape terms in a new book — Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape-- in hopes of keeping them from going extinct.
• Japan Quake Sends Massive Surges to California
  An 8.1-magnitude earthquake north of Japan created a small tsunami that found its way to Crescent City, Calif. Back-to-back surges destroyed two docks and rattled nerves in the small community, which lost 11 people to a tsunami in 1964. We hear from a local emergency services coordinator, as well as a witness to the pounding.
• Bush Prepares to Join Leaders in Vietnam
  President Bush is in Singapore for the start of a three-nation Asia trip. The centerpiece of that trip is the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, held this year in Vietnam. In President Bush's first trip to communist Vietnam, he will be joined by leaders of 20 other Pacific Rim nations, including China and Russia.

The Dinner Party Download™

A fast, funny digest of the week's most interesting news, cuisine, cocktails and culture.

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories