Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Border towns want changes to 2008 passport requirements
  By 2008, the U.S. will require passports to enter the country from Canada. Northern border communities want the law changed, saying it would devastate cross-border tourism and trade.6:54 a.m.
• Kennedy gets Republican nod for U.S. Senate
  Promising to bring Minnesota values to Washington, U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy on Thursday night secured the Republican endorsement as its 2006 candidate for the U.S. Senate. Kennedy's endorsement capped the first night of the state Republican convention at the Minneapolis Convention center.7:20 a.m.
• Pawlenty heads into second campaign
  Delegates to the state Republican convention are expected to handily endorse Gov. Tim Pawlenty for a second term Friday afternoon Pawlenty has led the state during a contentious and highly-polarized era at the Capitol, which included the state's first partial government shutdown.7:24 a.m.
• Minneapolis voters may cast instant-runoff ballots
  There is an effort in Minneapolis to do away with primaries and instead, hold elections on one day with one ballot. Voters would rank three candidates in order of preference. It is called instant runoff voting. The Minneapolis Charter Commission is scheduled to meet next week to discuss the language of the 'Single Transferable Vote' referendum recently approved by the city council. Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Larry Jacobs, Director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota about how the proposed voting system works.7:50 a.m.
• NorShor strip club plan raises hackles in Duluth
  Duluth's historic downtown theater is being turned into a strip club. After years of trying, the owner says he's finally found something that will pay the bills. But some of his downtown neighbors, including the mayor, are really upset.7:54 a.m.
• Jill rides again
  At a horse show near Cannon Falls this weekend, one woman's dream will come true. Jill Krimmel of Buffalo, Minnesota, was a familiar face at Saddlebred horse shows across the region until she suffered a devastating stroke. After an amazing recovery, Krimmel is back in the saddle.8:24 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• A School Sets the Stage for Life Changes
  When Scott and Cathy Kohanek first met, he was a custodian and she was a teacher -- and they couldn't stop talking to each other. A lot has changed since then. But they're both still at Minnesota's Kenwood Elementary School.
• Swell Books for Summer Loafing
  "I lean and loafe at my ease," poet Walt Whitman wrote, "observing a spear of summer grass." But when you get tired of watching the grass grow, you might want to pick up a good book. Susan Stamberg gets suggestions from three independent booksellers.
• Reporting Undercover in Zimbabwe
  NPR Reporter Jason Beaubien talks with Steve Inskeep about the difficulty of reporting the crisis in Zimbabwe. Beaubien says he must go undercover as a tourist to enter Zimbabwe and report on conditions there.
• Young Workers Spending Instead of Saving
  Thousands of college seniors graduate this spring, entering the work force to earn their way for the first time. But many young workers are struggling to save money. Lower wages and free-spending habits mean that there is little money left for the future.
• Congress Debates Help for Veterans Affected by Stolen Data
  Many members of Congress want the Veteran's Administration to pay for services to help all 26 million vets affected by a recent data theft. But some consumer groups say the services don't do much good.
• Democracy Suffers in Egypt After Election
  Egyptian journalist Hisham Kassem talks with Steve Inskeep about the status of Ayman Nour. Nour is a pro-democracy candidate who challenged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in last year's elections. He is in now jail after being charged with fraud by the government.
• Myanmar Extends Sentence for Democracy Activist
  The military junta of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has imposed another year of house arrest on democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Emma Larkin, author of Finding George Orwell in Burma, talks about the sentence extension. Emma Larkin is a pseudonym for the author.
• Government Policies Lead to Collapse of Zimbabwe Economy
  The former southern African breadbasket of Zimbabwe is in the midst of an economic and social meltdown. Zimbabwe's annual inflation tops 1,000 percent, the highest in the world. The country's economy has shrunk by almost a third since 2000. And there are regular shortages of everything from gasoline to basic food staples.
• NYSE and Euronext Plan to Merge Markets
  The New York Stock Exchange is merging with the European stock market Euronext. The deal would create an international stock trading network, with outposts in the U.S. and across Europe. The move is the biggest so far in a trend toward cross-border stock trading.
• OPEC Meeting Addresses Rising Gas Prices
  An OPEC meeting in Venezuela Thursday was charged by the anti-American rhetoric from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. But the focus of the talks remained on oil production quotas and rising gas prices.
• U.S. Military Probes Second Set of Iraq Killings
  The U.S. military confirms it is investigating a report that American troops killed Iraqi civilians in a Sunni village northwest of Baghdad. The news comes amid allegations that American Marines killed 24 unarmed civilians at Haditha.
• Respect Beats Confrontation as an Iran Strategy
  Commentator Barry Rosen was a former U.S. embassy official, and one of the hostages held in Tehran in 1979. Rosen doesn't believe resorting to military measures is a fruitful way of dealing with Iran's nuclear program. This is the second of two commentaries this week about Iran's nuclear program.
• U.S. and U.N. Powers Forge United Front on Iran
  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and representatives of other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, agree on a plan to offer Iran incentives for stopping its nuclear enrichment plans. For the time being, thoughts of punitive action against Iran are shelved.
• National Spelling Bee Winner
  Here's the update for those who couldn't stay up: The winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is 13-year-old Katharine Close. She survived fierce competition, and commercial breaks. The bee was on prime time TV, and sometimes only two words got spelled between the breaks. Her winning word was "ursprache." It means a "parent language," though it could also be something you say when you accidentally drop your fork on the floor.
• U.S. Car Makers Revive Incentives to Lure Customers
  Slowing car sales have forced the Big Three U.S. automakers to offer special incentives to lure customers back. Automakers are struggling to overcome the fears consumers have about soaring gas prices. Detroit Public Radio's Jerome Vaughn reports.

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