Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Rushford asks: 'Will they be there' to help?
  In Rushford, Minnesota, residents are coping with extreme conditions following last weekend's flood -- no water, no sewer, no phones, no power. And they're waiting for help.7:20 a.m.
• The Great Minnesota Get-Together
  A new book chronicles the Minnesota State Fair since its start in the 1850s. Mother-daughter team Kathryn Strand Koutsky and Linda Koutsky have put together an illustrated history using pictures from all eras.7:25 a.m.
• Whitewater State Park closed due to flooding
  Whitewater State Park in southeastern Minnesota sustained damage in last weekend's floods, and is closed until further notice. MPR's Cathy Wurzer talked with the park manager, Gary Barvels.8:40 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• An Austin Institution Ousted by Development
  In Austin, a beloved Tex-Mex cafe is preparing to move to make way for a giant new Marriott hotel, and people are plenty upset about it. The controversy has raised anew the question: Is success ruining Austin?
• Elizabeth Edwards: Campaigning with Cancer
  A recurrence of breast cancer hasn't kept Elizabeth Edwards from being a vital presence in her husband's presidential campaign. Edwards, who plays a key role in delivering her husband's message, says she hopes his opponents don't hold back because of her health.
• The Big Mac Hits the Big 4-0
  The Big Mac debuted 40 years ago this week. Since the introduction of the double-patty burger in 1967, it has become an American icon. Americans eat 550 million Big Macs every year. It has its own museum featuring the world's biggest Big Mac, at 14 feet high and 12 feet wide.
• 'Kid Nation' Critics Charge Neglect on Set
  Just weeks before the CBS debut of Kid Nation, a reality show featuring 40 children on their own in the high desert of New Mexico, there are concerns and questions being raised about possible child endangerment and neglect on the set.
• Seminary Launches Homemaking for Women
  A new course at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for women only is homemaking. Women learn about cooking and sewing, raising kids and "God's plan for marriage." The school says the program prepares women for the most important job they may ever have: nurturing a family.
• Texas Rangers Trounce Baltimore Orioles
  The Texas Rangers hit everything the Baltimore Orioles threw at them and scored 30 runs. The last time a Major League Baseball team scored that many runs was in 1897. The only positive for Orioles manager Dave Trembley was that he signed a contract extension just before the game.
• Liberia Unable to Absorb Thousands of Returnees
  If Liberians on "temporary protected status" are forced to go home, what would they go back to? Liberians elected Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first woman president, nearly two years ago but has faced huge challenges in trying to get Liberia on its feet.
• President Bush Links War in Iraq to Vietnam
  President Bush reached for historical precedents in his defense of the war in Iraq during a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He likened the war in Iraq to past conflicts in Japan, Korea and Vietnam – saying that ideology was at the core of them all.
• Bank of America Sends Cash to Countrywide
  Bank of America says that it will invest $2 billion in Countrywide, the largest home mortgage company. Countrywide has been struggling to raise cash. Last week, the lender was forced to draw on an $11.5 billion line of credit from a group of banks.
• FDA Approves Risperdal for Kids
  The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the powerful anti-psychotic drug Risperdal for use in preteens and teenagers with schizophrenia or manic depressive illness. Risperdal can be very effective, but it also has some significant side effects.
• True Mine Safety Will Exclude Humans
  Experts question whether the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah, where six coal miners were trapped, should have been operating at all. With high demand, and a high price, for coal, mine safety is sometimes compromised by digging into areas that have already been stressed.
• Iraq War Report Anxiously Awaited
  The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, will report to Congress in a few weeks on the results of the military surge in Iraq. The White House and critics of President Bush largely know the challenges the report will pose. So they're both hard at work putting their spin on it ahead of time.
• Pesky and Not Picky, Bedbugs Make a Comeback
  The saying "Don't let the bedbugs bite" might have seemed like a thing of the past. The little blood-sucking critters were mostly eradicated in the 1940s, but they seem to be staging a creepy return, causing great discomfort among sleepers across the country.
• Mortgage Businesses Shutter in Subprime Debacle
  California-based Accredited Home Lenders says that it would stop writing new loans and lay off more than half its workforce. Lehman Brothers is shuttering its BNC Mortgage unit. And Quality Home Loans has joined about a dozen mortgage companies in filing for bankruptcy.
• Iran's Crackdown Cools U.S. Outreach Efforts
  The arrest of Iranian-American Haleh Esfandiari and several others is having a major effect in the United States. Iranian-Americans are more fearful now to travel to Iran, or to take part in meetings with democracy and human rights activists. That has put a chill into U.S. efforts to promote democracy in Iran.

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