Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Service dogs provide physical, mental and financial benefits
  As his first piece of legislation in Congress, U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., sponsored an amendment to provide some 200 military veterans with specially trained service dogs.6:40 a.m.
• Farms used as real world research labs
  A North Dakota farmer is letting researchers try a new approach to studying the environmental impacts of agriculture by turning his entire farm into a laboratory.7:45 a.m.
• Fringing the Fringe Festival an art in itself
  The Minnesota Fringe Festival kicks off tomorrow night at more than a dozen Twin Cities venues. The 16th annual festival of alternative theater, dance, and movement features 160 productions this year.8:25 a.m.
• The Syringa Tree returns to the Jungle Theater
  In "The Syringa Tree," actor Sarah Agnew portrays some 25 characters in a play that tells the story of two women growing up in South Africa under apartheid.8:45 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Ghani Blames Afghan Government For Corruption
  Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani calls himself "a man of the people." Once the country's finance minister, he now says the current government is to blame for widespread corruption. He says Afghanistan faces a choice between "consolidation of corruption, or a reform system."
• U.S. Drug Agents Target Afghan Poppy Pushers
  The U.S. government plans to augment the DEA staff in Afghanistan to combat the narco-traffickers in that country instead of going after poppy farmers. The U.S. will work in conjunction with Afghans to prosecute traffickers to stop the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars from the opium trade to the Taliban.
• NPR Poll Finds Tough Sledding For Obama
  President Obama has hit a rough patch, squeezed between a lingering recession and rising questions about his health care overhaul, the latest NPR poll finds. A plurality of voters polled opposed the health care plan now moving through Congress.
• Frugal Norway Stays Afloat Amid Economic Crisis
  Unlike almost every other country in the West, Norway remains relatively unscathed by the worst financial crisis in decades. While most nations spent during boom years, Norway saved. Today, housing prices are rising, interest rates are low, and frugal management of income from Norway's huge oil and natural gas reserves have helped the country build one of the world's biggest investment funds.
• Hum Along With Male Plainfin Midshipman Fish
  It's time for another installment in our occasional series Wild Sounds — short stories that take you to remote parts of the world to hear the sounds of rare animals. Biologist Andy Bass of Cornell University explains what makes the plainfin midshipman fish hum.
• Testimony: Sens. Conrad, Dodd Told Of VIP Loans
  Two leading Democratic senators are denying allegations by a former loan officer, who says he told the senators they were getting VIP deals on mortgages. Senators Christopher Dodd and Kent Conrad say testimony by the loan officer before the Senate Ethics Committee vary sharply with their recollections.
• Cold Beer Could Tamp Down Uproar Over Arrest
  President Obama, professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sergeant James Crowley are expected to meet for a beer at the White House tomorrow. A White House spokesman says the president wants to take the heat out of the controversy sparked by the arrest of the Harvard black scholar.
• If He Hollers: Remembering Chester Himes
  Chester Himes' pen name was his prison number — 59623. He did hard labor on a prison chain gang and wrote hard-nosed detective fiction. One hundred years after Himes was born, commentator John Ridley remembers a life that personified hard-boiled.
• Microsoft, Yahoo Announce Internet Search Deal
  Years of back and forth negotiations between Microsoft and Yahoo are over. The two announced an Internet seach partnership on Wednesday. The agreement gives Microsoft access to Yahoo, which is the Internet's second-largest search engine. The move could help Microsoft in its attempt to unseat Google as the No. 1 search engine.
• Home Prices In June Show Increase
  The government reports new home sales rose markedly last month, compared to May. It was the largest monthly increase in more than eight years, and it is raising hopes that the housing market is beginning to recover.

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