Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Students learn smart phone programming in U of M's new 'apps' class
  The University of Minnesota offered its first "apps class" this year, to teach students how to develop applications for smart phones and other mobile devices. According to instructors, it's not for hardcore computer programmers, but rather teaches new skills to people passionate about teaching and learning.3:49 p.m.
• St. Paul writer's debut prison novel draws national acclaim
  St. Paul writer Keith Hollihan's debut novel, "The Four Stages of Cruelty," hits bookstores this week, and Publisher's Weekly has already named it one of the best books of 2010.3:53 p.m.
• Kline, new committee chairman, says top priority is jobs
  Republican John Kline, who represents Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District, was appointed chair of the House Education and Labor Committee on Wednesday. Kline said his first priority in that position will be to help improve the economy and create jobs. He spoke with MPR's Tom Crann.4:46 p.m.
• State ratchets up pressure on raw milk seller
  Investigators with the state Department of Agriculture are trying to determine if the operators of a southern Minnesota dairy farm at the center of a raw milk controversy are guilty of felony criminal offenses.4:50 p.m.
• Humane Society to require counseling before surrendering pets
  Starting January 1, the Twin Cities-based Animal Humane Society will require people who want to turn in pets to make an appointment and go through a counseling process before they can surrender the animals. It's an attempt to reduce the number of animals that need to be euthanized.4:54 p.m.
• Mark Dayton declared winner, finally
  Democratic Gov.-elect Mark Dayton vowed Wednesday to make improving Minnesota's economy his first order of business when he takes office as governor in January. "Now the real work begins," Dayton said during a news conference at the State Capitol.5:15 p.m.
• Students learn smart phone programming in U of M's new 'apps' class
  The University of Minnesota offered its first "apps class" this year, to teach students how to develop applications for smart phones and other mobile devices. According to instructors, it's not for hardcore computer programmers, but rather teaches new skills to people passionate about teaching and learning.5:49 p.m.
• St. Paul writer's debut prison novel draws national acclaim
  St. Paul writer Keith Hollihan's debut novel, "The Four Stages of Cruelty," hits bookstores this week, and Publisher's Weekly has already named it one of the best books of 2010.5:53 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• For WikiLeaks' Assange, It's Only The Beginning
  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is fighting extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations, and that's just the start of an international legal odyssey. Experts say that his extradition is likely, and American prosecutors are on his case, too.
• We Have Liftoff: SpaceX Launches Test Spacecraft
  The launch marks the first time a private company has sent a space capsule into orbit and brought it back safely. And it provides a glimpse of the future of the American space program.
• Dives To Gulf Seafloor Turn Up Sea Life Near Well
  Far offshore the Gulf of Mexico, scientists aboard a deep-sea submarine are studying the impact of the BP oil spill on sea life. They're especially interested in more than 1,000 biological hot spots and what the oil might do to them.
• Sex, Drugs And 'Life' — The Year's Best Guilty Reads
  If celebrity tell-all books are the snack food of the literary world, author Susan Jane Gilman has been on a binge this year. Her picks — from various ranks of the pop-culture pantheon — may not be the proudest additions to your bookshelf, but they may be among the most amusing.
• Obama: Proposed Tax Deal Makes Dollars And Sense
  The Obama administration is hoping to persuade skeptical lawmakers to approve a tax cut deal, by arguing the proposal makes dollars and sense. Many Democrats are unhappy with the measure, because it would extend Bush-era tax cuts for even the wealthiest families. Some Republicans don't like the plan's unemployment benefits, or its taxes on wealthy estates.
• Democrats: Keep Estate Tax Change Out Of Deal
  One line item in President Obama's compromise with Republicans over taxes is a proposal for the estate tax. Republicans have proposed a 35 percent rate for estate taxes rather than the 45 percent rate that Democrats have favored. Republicans also want to exempt more money from the estate tax, raising the number where the tax kicks in from $3.5 million to $5 million. A number of Democrats have indicated they will fight to keep that provision out of final legislation. NPR's Guy Raz talks with Joe Rosenberg of the Tax Policy Center about what the cost to the Treasury might be if the rate ends up where the Republicans want it.
• A Look At Men's Winter Fashion
  NPR's Guy Raz talks about this winter's trends in men's fashion with two fashion experts: the designer Billy Reid of Florence, Ala., and Joshua Kissi of the Bronx, who writes the blog StreetEtiquette.com.
• Book Review: Nadine Gordimer's 'Life Times'
  Nobel Prize Winner Nadine Gordimer has celebrated her native South Africa in novels and short stories over a career lasting more than 60 years. You can now find nearly six decades' worth of her selected short fiction in a new volume called Life Times, Stories, 1952-2007.
• For-Profit Schools Retooling Recruitment Strategy
  Under pressure from regulators, for-profit colleges and universities are retooling their recruitment strategies. After casting their net widely for any student who can get federal loans, some companies are fishing for higher quality students, who are more likely to finish school.
• Team Wins Siemens Prize For Speech Analyzer
  NPR's Melissa Block talks to Matthew Fernandez, the high school junior from Oregon who, along with his partner, Akash Krishnan, won the team prize in the 2010 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Fernandez and Krishnan built a computer algorithm that analyzes speech and figures out the emotional state of the speaker. Fernandez says the technology could improve service at call centers, where irate customers could be quickly recognized by the computer's phone menu and quickly put through to a human. It could also be used to help autistic children better understand the emotion of someone speaking to them.

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