Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Immigrant farmers work and learn in a new land
  The Latino farming population in Minnesota is growing rapidly. It almost doubled from 1997 to 2002. To help some of the new residents, a nonprofit organization developed a specialized project that helps immigrant farmers continue their agragrian lifestyle in this country.6:49 a.m.
• Union: Ford to offer buyouts to more than 75,000 workers
  Ford Motor Co. will offer buyout and early retirement plans to all of its hourly U.S. employees - more than 75,000 of them - as part of a broad restructuring plan aimed at cutting its costs.7:20 a.m.
• Minnesota Marine laid to rest this weekend
  Marine Cpl. Johnathan Benson of North Branch is remembered for his love of the military, and his pride in serving. Benson died last week from injuries he suffered in Iraq a few months ago. His funeral is Sunday.7:26 a.m.
• The Equine Art Protection League saddles up
  A St. Paul artist named Lynn Maderich has been victimized by Internet art fraud. Her speciality is equine art, which is in extremely high demand all over the world. She was recently tipped off that a forged copy of one of her prize-winning paintings was up for sale on eBay. Her source: the Equine Art Protection League.7:53 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• The Family That Squeezes Together...
  Family histories are often linked to things and places, whether it's a favorite chair or a vacation spot. Joyce Kahkonen says her family was linked to a musical instrument: the accordion. It all started with her father, whose enthusiasm for performing was contagious.
• Earliest New World Writing Discovered
  A heap of debris taken from a quarry in Mexico has yielded a stone block inscribed with what appears to be the oldest writing ever found in the Americas. Experts say symbols are nearly 3,000 years old and was created by the Olmec civilization. At left, a recreation of the symbols.
• Disabled Activists Win Battle for Independent Care
  Earlier this summer, federal officials announced they will provide two billion dollars to states that help people leave nursing homes -- instead of paying for them to live in one. That plan was the result of an unlikely alliance between severely disabled activists and a White House official.
• Senate Rebellion Breaks Out Against White House
  President Bush faced an unexpected rebellion from some of his fellow Republicans in the Senate on Thursday. Members of the Armed Services committee passed a bill creating military courts for suspected terrorists, in a move that is significantly different from the legislation the Bush administration proposed.
• Bush Demands Action on Terrorism-Suspect Bill
  Facing a split with some Senate Republicans, President Bush urges Congress to pass legislation defining acceptable interrogation and prosecution procedures for terrorism suspects held outside the U.S. legal system. At a Rose Garden news conference, he said action is vital because "the enemy wants to attack us again."
• Kean Chases N.J. Senate Seat without Bush Baggage
  Republican Tom Kean Jr. is hoping to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate. He has all the makings of a politician. For one, politics runs in his family. His father Tom Kean Sr. served as one of the state's most popular governors. The best thing Kean may have going for him is that he has no ties to President Bush, or the Iraq war.
• Spinach Thought to Be Source of E. coli Outbreak
  Health officials say recently purchased raw, packaged spinach should not be eaten. It is the likely source of an E. coli bacteria outbreak that has killed one person, and made at least 49 other people sick. Cases have been reported in eight states, from Connecticut to Oregon.
• Buyouts Likely to Weaken UAW Further
  The UAW faces further weakening with the announcement by Ford that it will offer buyouts to all North American hourly workers in an effort to slash its payroll. The move will eventually drain thousands of workers from the UAW's active rolls.
• Documentaries View the Iraq War from Two Sides
  Two new documentaries are out about the Iraq war: The Ground Truth and My Country, My Country. My Country shows what the war has been like for Iraqis, while Ground Truth concentrates on the personal traumas U.S. soldiers have to deal with when they return home. Both movies offer compelling views of the costs of war.
• Moazzam Begg: From Pakistan to Guantanamo
  Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg has published a memoir called Enemy Combatant. Begg says he was arrested in Pakistan without ever being charged with a crime, beaten and psychologically tortured at prison camps in Afghanistan and kept in isolation for nearly two years at Guantanamo Bay.
• The Inner Journey of Young Muslims in America
  Two young women are discovering what it means to be Muslim in America. Assia and Iman Boundaoui talk about how they reconcile living between two worlds, and where their Muslim and American identities come together.
• Ney Expected to Plead Guilty in Abramoff Scandal
  A Republican congressman linked to tainted lobbyist Jack Abramoff is expected to plead guilty to at least one criminal charge. Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio has been the focus of a Justice Department investigation for more than a year. A guilty plea could come as early as Friday.
• GOP Senators Break with President over Detaineess
  Four Republican senators are at odds with the White House over proposed legislation on terrorism suspects. The White House does not like a version of the bill passed by the GOP-controlled Senate Armed Services Committee. The Bush administration's goal of signing a measure into law before mid-term elections now seems in doubt.
• Ford Speeds Restructuring with Closures, Buyouts
  Ford Motor Co. plans to offer buyout proposals to all its North American hourly workers in a bid to speed up a restructuring plan announced earlier this year. Ford employs approximately 75,000 UAW members in the U.S. Ford also said it will cut 14,000 salaried jobs.
• Iranians Talk About Their Nuclear Program
  Ted Koppel is in Iran talking to ordinary citizens about their view of the international dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

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