Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• In Sandstone, success is in the bag
  Baggers from the small town of Sandstone, Minnesota are dominating the state's grocery bagging championships. This year's winner heads to the national contest in Las Vegas next week.6:50 a.m.
• Ice storms and mild winters
  Perry Finelli talks with University of Minnesota climitologist about the winter weather.6:55 a.m.
• Old tools and new buildings
  State Historical Society officials are meeting with community leaders in Walker, Minnesota today to talk about an amazing discovery. Archeologists have uncovered ancient stone tools on a hilltop in the northern Minnesota community. They could be 15,000 years old. That would make Walker among the oldest known sites of human habitation in North and South America. The problem is, the archeological site lies in the path of a major city development project. Scientists hope the site can be preserved.7:20 a.m.
• Legislative auditor blasts management of watersheds
  A legislative auditor's report says a Minnesota state agency is doing an inadequate job overseeing local watershed management units. In a report released Thursday, the office says the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources has failed to perform key parts of its mission. The agency supervises some 240 local watershed entities.7:25 a.m.
• Researcher looks to the past for the climate of the future
  Dr. Bryan Schuman, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Minnesota, has been looking at what lakes can tell us about climate history, and he talked with MPR's Perry Finelli about his research.7:50 a.m.
• Charter schools get a boost
  Nineteen Minnesota charter schools will receive a total of $8 million in federal money to renovate their buildings.7:55 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Looking for Trouble: A Search for IEDs in Iraq
  Fifty miles north of Baghdad is the largest U.S. military supply center in Iraq. Supplies come by truck and a section of the road is often under attack. An Arkansas unit clears the path and makes repairs.
• Mozart's Hidden Kitchen
  On the eve of Mozart's 251st birthday, The Kitchen Sisters take us to Vienna, to Mozart's Hidden Kitchen: "The Tables of New Crowned Hope." The festival honored the composer's free-thinking philosophy, innovation and radical music.
• Tyson Foods Faces Suit over Illegal Workers
  Tyson Foods faces a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of hiring illegal immigrants at eight U.S. plants. A similar case went to trial in 2003, ending in acquittals and plea agreements.
• Russia Targets Illegal Immigrants in Retail Trade
  Police in Russia are expelling foreigners who work in the country's street markets. The authorities are enforcing new quotas aimed at removing all illegal immigrants working in the retail trade.
• Favorites from the Sundance Festival
  As the Sundance Film Festival wraps up, several films stand out. Among them are Once, a love story from Ireland and Away from Her, directed by the actress Sarah Polley.
• Homecoming Plans Disrupted at Fort Drum
  Welcome home signs have been up for weeks at Fort Drum, N.Y., but now comes the news that 3,200 soldiers who were to return from Afghanistan must extend their tour of duty by four months.
• Kabul Intel Center a Diplomatic Effort Amid War
  A NATO-led "joint intelligence center" opens in Kabul, aimed at curbing the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. Afghan and Pakistani army officials will staff the center amid mistrust over Pakistan's stance on the Taliban.
• Rice Asks NATO to Boost Afghan Aid
  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeals to NATO allies to increase aid to Afghanistan — and send more troops there. The Bush administration has already said it will ask Congress for an additional $10.5 billion for the Kabul government.
• Microsoft Profits, Internet Gambling Fight
  Microsoft's quarterly profit of $2.6 billion is down from the same period a year ago. Sales of its X-box video game console helped, but delays in bringing out new office software programs hurt. Meanwhile, Antigua's complaints about a U.S. bid to curb Internet gambling head for a World Trade Organization hearing.
• Credit Cards: Fees, Fees and More Fees
  Credit card fees are rising, rewards are disappearing, and marketing campaigns for new products abound. What is happening in the credit card industry these days?

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