Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Immersion program provides new hope for preserving Ojibwe language
  The number of people fluent in the Ojibwe language is fading fast. An elementary school program on the Leech Lake reservation is taking a more aggressive approach to saving the language.6:40 a.m.
• For McLeod West district, the end is nigh
  A failed ballot question in November sealed the fate for this school district, about an hour's drive west of Minneapolis.6:50 a.m.
• Weather with Mark Seeley
  University of Minnesota Meteorologist and Climatologist Mark Seeley looks back at what happened with the weather in December and what we can expect this weekend.6:55 a.m.
• Minnesota time capsule awaits 2058
  Minnesota seals its sesquicentennial time capsule Jan. 6. SPAM, White Pine seeds, photographs of the Winona floods and children's notes about Barack Obama winning the presidency are part of what Minnesotans attending the state's bicentennial in 2058 will discover.7:20 a.m.
• Paddlers bring in the new year on the river
  A small fleet of kayakers and canoe paddlers shoved off the ice and onto the open Mississippi River yesterday to celebrate a chilly tradition -- the annual New Year's Day Paddle. Boaters say it's a fitting -- if early -- start to a season on the water.7:25 a.m.
• Future Tense with Jon Gordon
  Good podcasts for your idle time8:20 a.m.
• TV black out looms over Vikings playoff game
  The Minnesota Vikings host the Philadelphia Eagles at the Metrodome on Sunday in a first-round playoff match up. The Vikings still have 8,000 tickets to sell, and if the game is not sold out, the telecast will be blacked out on local television.8:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Cuba: 50 Years After The Revolution
  Cuban President Raul Castro and other government leaders celebrated the 50th anniversary of the ouster of U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista on Thursday. Castro predicted that Cuba's revolution would survive another half-century. But Cuba faces huge challenges.
• A Mother's Memoir Of A Child She Never Knew
  Fiction writer Elizabeth McCracken thought she would never write a memoir; too often, she says, memoirs center on "the worst thing that ever happened to" an author. But when her first child died in utero just days before he was due to be born, McCracken realized she needed to write about it.
• A Snow-Day Experience That Got Frozen In Time
  In January 1951, a massive blizzard hit the southern United States, blanketing the region in ice and snow. At the time, Dr. Jim Fleming was a high school student in Greenwood, Miss. In an interview with his daughter Janetta, he recalls how he spent those snowy days in the Deep South — and how it affected him for years to come.
• Economists Duke It Out Over Stimulus Plan
  Economists often disagree about ways to solve economic problems. Two economists duke it out in a boxing match of words. In one corner, a supporter of the incoming Obama administration's stimulus plan who says government spending is essential to create jobs. In the other corner, an economist who believes taxpayers — not the federal government — should decide where to spend a trillion dollars of the nation's economy.
• Army Recruiter Suicides Prompt Investigations
  The Army is investigating a cluster of suicides in the Houston Recruiting Battalion, where five soldiers have taken their own lives since 2001. Nationally, 17 recruiters have committed suicide during the same period. Recruiting is considered one of the most stressful jobs in the military.
• Anti-Apartheid Campaigner Helen Suzman Dies
  Helen Suzman — one of South Africa's most famous white crusaders against apartheid --died in Johannesburg on Thursday. She was 91. Suzman was the only member of South Africa's all-white parliament who opposed segregation in the 1960s and '70s.
• Californians Play Big Role On Obama's A-Team
  California may have some major political clout with Barack Obama's administration. The president-elect has appointed Californians to key positions, and the state already has muscle on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the California delegation will head a half-dozen powerful congressional committees. All of this means California is back on the Washington "A" list.
• Obama Could Appoint 2 Supreme Court Justices
  The next president may appoint at least two justices to the Supreme Court. How might Barack Obama's experience as a constitutional law professor play a role in his choices for judicial nominations?
• Steel Industry Presses Obama For Public Works Plan
  The ailing U.S. steel industry is urging President-elect Barack Obama to include in his stimulus plan up to a trillion dollars for public works. The New York Times reports that the industry's proposal would help boost the flagging demand for U.S.-made steel. The plan would include funds to build things like bridges, highways, electric power grids and mass transit systems. Obama has not yet released the details of his planned economic stimulus, but aides have suggested that it would include significant infrastructure spending.
• Europeans Worry Gas Shutoff Will Leave Them Cold
  Western countries are calling on Russia to resolve its dispute with Ukraine over natural gas prices. Moscow has shut off gas supplies to Ukraine for a second day. Energy companies in Europe say their flow of Russian gas hasn't been affected. But concern is mounting that a prolonged standoff may threaten deliveries to Western Europe.

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