Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Plant-based composites could replace petroleum products
  Researchers at North Dakota State University say they've developed a way to make high quality paints and coatings from soy oil and sugar.6:50 a.m.
• Obama seeks to reconnect with voters in Minnesota
  In what could be considered his campaign kickoff for the 2012 election, President Barack Obama told a town hall audience Monday that the nation's slowly improving economy is hampered by the impasse in the nation's capital.7:20 a.m.
• Peter Smith remembers a cure-all liniment
  August is when football coaches schedule two-a day practices. That has essayist Peter Smith thinking about his days playing high school football and a balm that his coach claimed cure any injury.7:45 a.m.
• Guthrie gives 'Pinafore' a modern twist
  You might wonder what Gilbert and Sullivan would say if they were alive to see the new production of "H.M.S. Pinafore" currently playing at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. The operetta premiered in London in 1878, but the Guthrie's version has a distinctly modern flavor.8:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Economic Issues Drive Obama's Midwest Bus Tour
  President Obama will host a forum on rural economic development in Iowa Tuesday. It's the middle stop on a three-day bus tour of the upper Midwest. As he talks about job growth, Obama is also testing out the themes that are likely to define his 2012 re-election campaign.
• Va. Truck Stop Owner Irked At Washington Politicians
  Corey Berkstresser's father bought the Lee Hi Travel Plaza in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains in the mid 80s. The family has worked hard to build up the business. But these days, gas prices are up and the effects of the bad economy are showing up everywhere. Even the tips the waitresses get are down. Everyone is blaming Washington for the mess.
• Russia Pushes To Claim Arctic As Its Own
  Ever since the Soviet Union collapsed two decades ago, many Russians have felt they were a nation in retreat. But Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sees the Arctic as a place for Russia to expand, with an eye on its natural resources.
• Study: Are Cohabiting Parents Bad For Kids?
  Divorce has been falling since its peak in 1979. But family experts see a new threat for children: the rise of cohabiting parents, who avoid marriage altogether. A new study finds their offspring can face as much if not more instability as the children of divorce.
• Navy Aids In Syria's Crack Down On Protesters
  In Syria, the navy is being used for the first time against the protest movement there. Gunships have been shelling the coastal city of Latakia, where more than 30 people have been killed over the last four days. Residents say they fear the crackdown could get worse.
• Next In Line For The TSA? A Thorough 'Chat-Down'
  Boston's airport will be the first in the U.S. to require all passengers to go through behavioral profiling screening, where officers look for involuntary micro expressions as a reaction to casual questioning. It's intended to find high-risk passengers, but some doubt that the TSA is up to the task.
• Credit Card Late Payments Hit 17-Year Low
  The credit reporting agency TransUnion says the rate of delinquent payments — 90 days late or more — has dropped to its lowest level in 17 years. Quarterly bank data also show that Americans are carrying less debt on their cards.
• 401(k) Owners Pray Markets Are Kind To Their Future
  Over the last two decades, employers have been shutting down defined-benefit pension plans and steering their workers into 401(k)-type savings plans. But the returns on many of these retirement funds have been dismal for more than a decade.
• Weiner War: Kraft, Sara Lee Battle Over Hot Dogs
  There's a hot dog war going on between Kraft Foods, which makes Oscar Mayer hot dogs, and Sara Lee, the maker of Ball Park franks. A judge in Chicago is hearing the case in which each side says the other broke false-advertising laws by saying that their respective hot dogs won a national taste test.
• Survey: Nice Guys Earn Less Than Mean Counterparts
  Research presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management looked at "agreeableness" using self-reported survey data collected over 20 years. Men who measured below average on agreeableness earned almost $10,000 more a year than nice guys.

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