Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Making art accessible to the poor: Respect the audience
  The needs of the poor go beyond food and shelter. Their spirits require nourishment as much as their bodies. Acting on that belief, several Twin Cities theater companies are working in various ways to make drama accessible to everyone.6:50 a.m.
• Upper Sioux banishes drug criminals
  An Indian tribe in southwest Minnesota has passed one of the toughest tribal anti-drug policies in the nation. Anyone convicted of drug crimes on the Upper Sioux Reservation is automatically prohibited from setting foot on the reservation for a certain length of time, a policy sometimes called banishment.7:20 a.m.
• Minnesota's gubernatorial race
  Governor Tim Pawlenty will officially announce his campaign for re-election later this morning. While the governor is making the official announcement today, there are already three DFLers and an independence party candidate in the race and Libertarian candidate Sue Jeffers is challenging Pawlenty directly for the GOP nomination. Paula Lynch O'Loughlin, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota-Morris, joins us this morning to talk about the Governor's chances of winning a second term.7:25 a.m.
• Curler runs across northerm Minnesota
  Later this evening, Gordy Savela will get to sit down for a change. He will attend a fundraising banquet in Duluth after completing a 13-day 300 mile run from Moorhead to Duluth. Savela decided to run the equivalent of a marathon a day to raise money for junior curling programs and he stopped at several clubs along the way.7:50 a.m.
• Rescued wolf hybrids moving to sanctuary
  Nineteen timberwolf hybrids at the Golden Valley Animal Humane Society will be moved to a 180-acre wolf sanctuary in Colorado, after being rescued from a farm in western Wisconsin. "Wolf dogs," as they are sometimes called, are increasingly being bred as exotic pets.8:25 a.m.
• Farmer tends to a new customer base
  Pelican Rapids is still basically a farming community. But a decade-and-a-half of immigration has changed the town a lot. That's not just clear on Main Street, If you drive a few miles out of town, life is even different on the farm.8:45 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Parents Begin Spanish Lessons with Toddlers
  Companies and educators are cashing in on a wave of interest among some parents to teach their children Spanish. The trend sometimes involves very young children who are just beginning to learn English. Research suggests this is an ideal time for kids to pick up a second language.
• Making the Case for a Safer Table Saw
  Table-saw accidents send more than 60,000 people to seek medical treatment every year, according to federal estimates. In an effort to get the power-tool industry to adopt safer technology, SawStop inventor Steven Gass visited the Consumer Product Safety Commission near Washington recently.
• Mongolia's Nomads Face Difficult Transition
  Mongolia's harsh climate and its recent transition to a market economy have made it difficult for some herders to maintain their traditional way of life. They are being encouraged to work together in cooperatives, but the nomads have to learn to trust each other first.
• Stirring Up Dust in the Desert
  In the Southwestern United States, dust storms are largely the result of tires and hooves, which are destroying natural biological barriers that once kept dust on the ground.
• U.S. Makes Overture to Iran on Nuclear Talks
  U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the United States is ready to join in direct talks with Iran about that country's nuclear program. But Iran must first halt uranium enrichment before talks can begin. The United States has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1979 and sent the message through the Swiss ambassador to the U.S. Steve Inskeep talks to Matthew Bunn of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
• Budget, Value of Dollar Key to Treasury Success
  President Bush has chosen Wall Street veteran Henry M. Paulson Jr. to be his third treasury secretary. If confirmed, he would succeed John Snow. The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel tells Steve Inskeep that the Goldman Sachs CEO can make a difference at Treasury by taming the federal budget process and the tending to the value of the dollar.
• Goldman Sachs Continues Funneling Talent to Washington
  There is a long list of former Goldman Sachs employees who've left Wall Street to work for the government. It's an unusual history of public service for a financial firm. Frank Langfitt reports.
• Federer and Nadal Reach for Tennis Greatness
  Commentator Frank Deford says tennis pros Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal may be the best male players ever. The 2006 French Open offers the two start the possibility of rising above the tournament and entering tennis legend.
• Tennis Coaching Debate Simmers at French Open
  In anticipation of a French Open face-off between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, host Steve Inskeep talks to Bud Collins. The Boston Globe columnist, and NBC commentator, talks about the role of coaches during tennis matches.
• Iran Nuclear Bluster Another Bad Move by Tehran
  Commentator Mark Bowden says he is surprised that so many people tell him the U.S. was to blame for the hostage crisis in 1979. He says the Iranians were wrong then, and they're wrong now in their brinksmanship over nuclear weapons. Later this week, we will hear another point of view from Barry Rosen, who was one of the hostages in Iran.
• House Holds Hearing on Executive Branch Powers
  Despite the Memorial Day recess, House lawmakers returned to Washington on Tuesday for a hearing on the FBI raid of Rep. William Jefferson's (D-LA) Capitol office. That search has provoked a standoff involving the White House, the Justice Department and House leaders over the reach of executive branch powers.
• Ney Chief of Staff Takes Stand at Safavian Trial
  Ohio Republican Bob Ney's name has been repeatedly mentioned in connection with the corruption scandal centering on former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney has yet to be charged in connection with the case. But on Tuesday, the Justice Department put former Ney Chief of Staff Neil Volz on the stand in the trial of former Bush administration official David Safavian.
• U.N. Report Puts Global HIV Infections at 38 Million
  A United Nations report on the status of the global AIDS epidemic estimates that there are 38 million people infected with HIV. The spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is slowing in the Caribbean and some parts of Africa. But it is taking off in Russia and Eastern Europe.
• Insurgency Finds Success in Ramadi
  Former Marine Bing West talks with Steve Inskeep about the efforts against insurgents in Ramadi. Bing has been to Ramadi nine times since 2003. He returned from an assignment there last week, reporting for the online magazine Slate.
• U.S. Troops Arrive in Western Iraq to Quell Rebellion
  Some 1,500 more troops have arrived in Iraq's western Anbar province to help with the war against militant rebels in Anbar's capital, Ramadi. The city is considered one of the most dangerous in Iraq. USA Today reporter Kimberly Johnson talks to Steve Inskeep about the situation there. She is the only western reporter embedded with the U.S. Marines in Ramadi.

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