Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Heating assistance requests up ten percent
  A record numnber of Minnesota families need help with their heating bills this winter. So far, about ten percent more families have been served by the state's low income energy assistance program.6:50 a.m.
• Mosque opens doors to help dispel rumors
  Leaders of a Minneapolis mosque have been vigorously fighting accusations linking them to a number of missing Twin Cities men -- men that some believe have returned to Somalia to fight in that country's civil war. Last night they took a different approach by hosting an open house at the mosque.7:20 a.m.
• Feds arrest 27 in Minnesota in drug smuggling crackdown
  Federal agents have arrested some 750 people across the country in a crackdown on Mexican drug cartels, including 27 people in Minnesota.7:45 a.m.
• Art Hounds: Week of Feb. 26
  Each week Minnesota Public Radio News asks three people from the Minnesota arts scene to be "Art Hounds." Their job is to step outside our own work and hunt down something exciting that's going on this weekend.8:45 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Drug-Related Killings Skyrocket In Mexico
  Mexico is at war, and the drug violence in February alone has flared all across the country. The escalating conflict killed more people in 2008 than all the U.S. service members killed in the entire Iraq war. This year, the rate of killings has more than doubled, and experts say there's no end in sight.
• Russian Baths Offer Respite From Bitter Winters
  In Russia, the legendary fierce winter starts to seem endless around this time of year. That helps explain Russians' abiding love for a central part of life: the sauna baths Russians call the banya, which have their own traditions and customs.
• Obama Unveils Budget
  President Obama releases his first budget. The administration has outlined plans for health care, education and clean energy.
• Cezanne's Shadow: A Master's Influence Lingers
  From Matisse to Mondrian, Braque to Giacometti — the list of venerable artists who were inspired by Paul Cezanne reads like the syllabus of an art history class. Now, a new exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art celebrates the master painter's legacy.
• Golf World Welcomes Back Tiger Woods
  Eight months after knee surgery, Tiger Woods has returned to competitive golf. He won his opening-round match Wednesday in the Accenture Match Play Championship. He beat Australian Brendan Jones to advance to the second round of the six-round tournament.
• U.S. Intelligence Agencies Monitor North Korea
  U.S. intelligence agencies are paying close attention to North Korea. That country announced this week that it is preparing to launch a communications satellite. But the satellite would be placed atop a long-range rocket of the same type that could be used to carry a nuclear warhead.
• Impact Of No Child Left Behind Is Debatable
  Seven years after the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law, Congress has struggled to answer a simple question: Is it working? Lawmakers could learn a lot about the pros and cons of the law from a group of high school debaters.
• Schools Say Stimulus Package Is Too Late
  President Obama said in his address to Congress Tuesday that education is one of his top priorities. He's offering up $115 billion toward schools in his stimulus package. However, local school officials say that money may not be enough.
• Cargo Hauling At Calif. Ports Will Go Greener
  The neighoring Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have some of the dirtiest air in a region that helped make smog famous. This week, a new all-electric, nonpolluting cargo hauler goes into service that may help make the nation's busiest freight center a little greener.
• Workplace Refrain: Do More With Less
  The government says 7.6 percent of Americans are unemployed. That's a scary number, but it means most workers still have jobs. These days, many employees are hearing four familiar words: Do more with less.
• Letters Criticize Truth Squad Segment
  Many listeners did not care for the fact-checking segment following President Barack Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. A man from Pendelton, Calif., complained it contained too much skepticism and pessimism. Other e-mails addressed recent stories about President Abraham Lincoln and emoticons.
• Calif. Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Legalize Pot
  A California state lawmaker is looking at marijuana as a way to boost the state's empty coffers. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco Democrat, introduced a bill this week that would legalize and tax marijuana. Ammiano says legalizing pot would bring in an estimated $1 billion a year for the state.
• Georgia Debates Sunday Liquor Sales
  As Georgia deals with a state budget deficit of more than $2 billion, legislators are revisiting a measure that would permit retail stores to sell beer and wine on Sundays. The excise tax from these sales could help raise revenue, because liquor sales remain strong even in the sagging economy. Opponents have defeated similar measures.
• Firm, Closing Plant, Advertises Workers' Skills
  Electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit Inc. is closing a plant in Massachusetts, and it's taking an unusual step. It has placed an ad in The Boston Globe urging other employers to contact the company if they want to hire exceptionally skilled and experienced employees.
• China Vows Reprisal Against Auction House
  Christie's, the international auction house, just sold two ancient Chinese bronze sculptures in France that were part of the art collection owned by late designer Yves Saint Laurent. Beijing says the pieces should have been returned to China, where they were looted in the 19th century, and it demanded that the auction be canceled. But Christie's went ahead and sold the items for $36 million. Beijing has ordered officials to tighten inspection of items that the auction house brings in and out of China, making it harder for the company to do business there.

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