Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Iowa bustling on morning of caucus day
  It's caucus day in Iowa. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck is in Des Moines, and he spoke with Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer.7:20 a.m.
• Do Aveda products live up to their reputation for purity?
  Minneapolis-based Aveda is heading into its 30th year. And the company does so as the leader of the North American market for natural and organic beauty products. But some critics think Aveda is falling short of its reputation.7:25 a.m.
• Pollsters will be in Iowa tonight
  When Iowans head into their caucus sites tonight, some of them will be met by pollsters. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer talked with Joe Lenski of Edison Media Research, which has been conducting exit polls for the major television networks and the Associated Press for the last decade.7:50 a.m.
• The arts in 2008
  St. Paul Pioneer Press theater critic Dominic Papatola offers his predictions for the Twin Cities art world in 2008.8:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Oil Prices Hit $100 a Barrel
  After hitting the symbolic $100 a barrel mark, oil prices slipped back a bit. Still, pressures pushing oil prices to all-time highs remain: soaring demand from China and India, a weak dollar, and political tensions in both the Middle East and Africa, which are big oil producers.
• Indiana Conservancy Inherits Toxic Waste Dump
  The idea of conservation conjures images of pristine forests and rolling green fields, not toxic waste dumps. But a dump is exactly what a private land conservancy in southern Indiana has inherited.
• Wisconsin Turns Out for Toilet Bowl Parade
  Those lining the route of the annual Toilet Bowl Parade in Hustisford, Wis., make do with a tractor dragging a case of beer and a king and queen ducking rolls of toilet paper. Still, it's a hot ticket. The Toilet Bowl began in the '60s with a pickup game for those looking to sweat off hangovers.
• Man Responsible for Smoking Caught Lighting Up
  It didn't take long for Antonio Nunez to run into trouble at work this year. He leads Portugal's food standards agency and is responsible for a new ban on smoking in many public places that took effect with the New Year. And at a New Year's party, Nunez was seen lighting up in public.
• Late-Night Talk Has Bumpy Return
  Entertainment writer Lynette Rice analyzes the return of late-night talk shows. She says the hosts were anything but smooth. CBS' David Letterman looks scruffy compared with the polish of NBC's Jay Leno. But Leno didn't have writers — and it shows. Letterman's writers were back.
• Interstate 10: Economy Looms Large for Voters
  Voters who live and work along Interstate 10 talk about issues important to them in the 2008 election. People in New Orleans and Florida say the economy, from the national debt to high property taxes, is their No. 1 concern.
• Updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
  Updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is one of Congress's top priorities in 2008. FISA, as the law is known, generally tells the president that he must have a court order to spy on Americans in the United States.
• Columnist Campaigns Against Business Jargon
  The world of business has its own jargon based on complex financial terminology, but many of the phrases don't say anything. One observer says executives and financial analysts overuse a lot of phrases that are meaningless. Among them: "going forward" and "at the end of the day."
• Starbucks Shares Lose Steam
  Shares of Starbucks fell 5 percent and are at their lowest level since 2004. For years, it seemed the gourmet coffee company was immune to conventional economic factors such as higher dairy prices. But that may no longer be the case.
• Democrats Make Last Stump Before Iowa Caucus
  Iowans absorb a final rush of presidential campaign stump speeches by Democratic contenders just hours ahead of making their decisions in the 2008 presidential race. The races in both parties could not be closer. And many Iowans, even in these final hours, are still weighing their options.
• Late-Night Talk Returns, Most Without Writers
  After a two-month hiatus, late-night talk television shows return to the airwaves. At CBS, David Letterman walks on stage amid dancing girls holding picket signs. His writers are back on the job, but NBC's Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel return without their writers.
• A High-Tech Coffee Brewer With a Price to Match
  Clover, a small Seattle company, makes a new kind of high-tech coffee brewer. The handcrafted, single-cup brewer costs $11,000. It's aimed at the super-specialty coffee shop owner — the kind of person who brews extra-rare gourmet beans and charges $6 a cup.
• Federal Prosecutor Named to CIA Probe
  Attorney General Michael Mukasey appoints John Durham, a federal prosecutor in Connecticut, to examine whether CIA officers broke the law when they destroyed videotapes of the harsh interrogation methods used by the agency.
• GOP Makes Final Effort in Iowa to Turn Voting Tide
  Many GOP presidential hopefuls crisscross Iowa making a last-minute pitch to convince voters of their qualifications to be the party nominee. Mitt Romney and John McCain rally the faithful while rival Mike Huckabee left for Los Angeles for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
• Iowans Kick off Presidential Voting Season
  The spotlight is on Iowa. Residents across the state caucus later Thursday to decide who to back for president. They'll be meeting at fire stations, American Legion halls and living rooms across Iowa. Iowans meet in person. Democrats vote openly. Republicans vote by ballot.

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