Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• UnitedHealth Group loses two top execs, one to Delta Airlines, one to Piper Jaffray
  UnitedHealth Group, the giant Minnetonka-based health insurer, is losing two high-profile executives. Both departures come as something of a surprise.6:20 a.m.
• New markets for small meatpackers
  A proposal in the U.S. Farm Bill eases restrictions on small, state-inspected meatpackers. The change would mean new markets for small processors, but some consumer groups say it's a bad idea.6:50 a.m.
• Embattled Mandernach quits Health Department post
  DFL legislators called for her resignation in June after her department acknowledged it waited a year before releasing details on the cancer deaths of 35 miners on the Iron Range.7:20 a.m.
• Bush pledges aid for bridge and flood recovery
  President Bush is promising a "flood of help" for people in southeastern Minnesota. He's also pledging quick federal help to replace the I-35W bridge.7:25 a.m.
• The town of Elba mucks out
  The Red Cross estimates that last weekend's flash flood in southeast Minnesota damaged more than 4,000 homes. Of that number, 700 suffered major damage or are total losses. That means a lot more cleanup ahead. In the town of Elba, two-thirds of the homes were damaged.7:50 a.m.
• Rebuilding after floods takes money and resolve
  Residents in southeastern Minnesota are cleaning up from weekend floods that killed seven people and damaged an estimated 4,000 homes. Dave Smiglewski, the mayor of Granite Falls, knows what it's like to rebuild a damaged town.7:55 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Spain Runs Europe's First Commercial Solar Plant
  Spain is making use of its 300 sunny days per year by powering thousands of homes with Europe's first commercial solar-thermal tower plant and running it doesn't generate any greenhouse gases.
• New Rules for Kids' Health Insurance
  The Bush administration has imposed new rules for the State Children's Health Insurance Program that state officials say may result in loss of coverage for thousands of kids. Congress has been working to renew the program, which is set to expire at the end of next month.
• Mistakes, Gimmicks Inevitable in Online Interviews
  Hewlett Packard tells The Wall Street Journal that there have been some blunders in its online recruiting. A male interviewee attended an online job fair as a brunette female avatar named Dragon Ritt. Then he handed the recruiter a beer instead of his resume.
• Tribune Shareholders Consent to $8B Buyout
  Tribune Co. shareholders say yes to an $8.2 billion buyout of the media company, an expected but noteworthy milestone. The transaction still awaits federal approval and billions of promised financing. But the deal faces problems including the fallout from the worsening global credit crunch.
• Maryland Man Jailed for Messy Yard
  Authorities gave George Hartsuff 30 days to clear the old boats, crab pots and other debris from his backyard. When the authorities returned they found an Arizona Iced Tea vending machine and the other debris. Now it's 60 days in the pokey for Hartsuff.
• Three Break Arms in Wrestling Game
  Three players of a Japanese arcade game ended up with broken arms after taking on the arm wrestling games' characters via a mechanical arm. A spokeswoman says the players must have gotten "overexcited" while wrestling a French maid, a drunken martial arts master and a Chihuahua.
• U.S. Military Works to Bolster Afghan Police
  Afghanistan's police officers are the front line of the war against the Taliban. But U.S. officials admit the Afghan force remains woefully under-trained, under-equipped and understaffed. American military officials in charge of training Afghan police are working to turn the force around.
• Freed Scholar in Iran: Release Was 'Unexpected'
  Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American academic, is free after spending more than 100 days in a Tehran prison. Esfandiari was first detained in December while in Iran visiting her aging mother. Then she was jailed in May on national security charges.
• N.H. Town Hall Meetings Lure More Outsiders
  New Hampshire voters' skill at vetting would-be presidents is touted because of frank candidate-voter interaction at town hall rallies. But the meetings have become magnets for provocateurs everywhere, making residents feel that their unique forum is being hijacked.
• Michigan to Vote on Earlier Presidential Primary
  The Michigan Senate will vote on a bill to move up the date of the Michigan presidential primary. It is part of a fierce competition with other states that have already done the same, or are planning to soon.
• Google to Embed Ticker-Type Ads in Video
  Google says it's ready to introduce video ads that will be like news tickers, appearing 15 seconds after a user begins watching a video clip and run like an overlay on the bottom of the screen. Industry watchers say this overlay video format could become the new standard for online ads.
• Veterans Discuss Iraq, Politics at Convention
  Veterans attending the national convention of Veterans of Foreign Wars express opinions about the Iraq war and politics. President Bush is due to address the meeting in Kansas City.
• Subprime Mortgage Woes Shake European Markets
  The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis is reverberating worldwide. Traders are trying to decide whether recent cash injections by central banks are enough to ease worries about the economy. Without confidence that lending will be available months from now, volatility could return.
• Xerox Creates Cheap, Eco-Friendly Printer Paper
  Xerox, one of the world's largest purveyors of copy machines and printing supplies, has made a new environmentally friendly copy paper. Xerox says the paper requires half as many trees to make and less than other green papers before it. But it's not clear whether consumers will go for it.
• Belle Fourche, S.D., Designated Center of USA
  Belle Fourche, S.D., is little more than a footnote in history books about cattle drives of the Old West. However, the small ranching community now plays a central role in the nation — literally. It has been designated the official geographic center of the country.

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