Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• The last sideshow at the State Fair
  Where have all the bearded ladies gone? There used to be more than 100 traveling sideshows in the United States. There's just one left and it appeared at the State Fair this summer. MPR's Nikki Tundel filed this report at the time which we rebroadcast this morning. The story is on the list of our reporters' most memorable stories of 2006.6:51 a.m.
• Legislators in a race to keep up with transportation needs
  Declining gas tax revenue and road and transit needs await the 2007 Legislature.7:20 a.m.
• Battling crime with eyes on the street
  Crime was a major story in 2006 -- more specifically, the surge of crime in north Minneapolis. We meet one woman who is battling crime by being vigilant.7:25 a.m.
• Trends in the arts in the year 2006
  Morning Edition's arts commentator Dominic Papatola delivers a commentary about trends in the Minnesota arts community in 2006.8:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Life Is a Collage for Artist Betye Saar
  "The Liberation of Aunt Jemima" -- a broom-toting, gun-wielding African-American woman -- established the reputation of artist Betye Saar. That was in 1972. At age 80, she's still combining scraps and souvenirs of the past into provocative works of art.
• Before Harry, the Most Popular Potter Was Beatrix
  Children's author Beatrix Potter is the subject of a new movie starring Renee Zellweger. But the film covers only a small chapter in the life of an accomplished woman, whose obsessions included the reproductive habits of mushrooms as well as the life of Peter Rabbit.
• The Future of Aging Dams Provokes Debate
  There's a debate over what to do about America's aging, and sometimes deadly, dams. Some say tearing them down is the responsible thing to do. Others believe it's better to keep them in place.
• A Year of Final Political Goodbyes
  President Ford is perhaps the most prominent figure in American political life to die in 2006. But he was just the lead figure in a parade of politicians, major and minor, who died in 2006.
• Cable Break Sends China Back to Pre-Internet Age
  On Tuesday, an earthquake off the coast of Taiwan damaged undersea fiber optic cables, causing widespread Internet and phone outages. Lack of access to the Web has forced people in China to contemplate what life was like before global connectivity.
• Private Equity Investment Surges in 2006
  Though many of this year's big business deals were corporate mergers, Google acquiring YouTube for example, some of the flashiest deals involved private equity firms. These firms, composed of money collected from wealthy individuals and institutions, were used this year to buy up all kinds of companies.
• Can Schwarzenegger's 2006 Comeback Survive?
  California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) started the year low in the polls, with political enemies circling. But by November, he was pals with some key Democratic leaders and scored a stunning landslide re-election victory. It was a comeback year that leads many to wonder what he will do in 2007.
• Parliamentary Elections Key to Serbia's Future
  Voters in Serbia go to the polls next month for parliamentary elections. Pro-Western parties are pitted against Serbian nationalist groups. To help Western-oriented parties, the U.N. has postponed a decision on the status of the breakaway province of Kosovo.
• Scientists Compete to Design New Nukes
  Two teams of scientists have drawn up designs for a new nuclear warhead intended to replace the aging warheads on U.S. submarines. The scientists had to devise designs that they can guarantee will work without being tested.
• Grand Rapids Remembers Ford as a Local Friend
  Before he was the President, Gerald Ford represented the area around Grand Rapids, Mich., in Congress for more than two decades. He's remembered with great warmth by the people he touched there.
• Israel Continues Effort to Strengthen Abbas
  Israeli media report that Egypt has transferred weapons through Israel to police forces in Gaza controlled by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It's part of an Israeli decision to strengthen Abbas as he moves to confront Hamas, the Islamist radical party in control of the Palestinian legislature.
• Ethiopia Plays Decisive Role in Somalia Conflict
  In Somalia, Islamist fighters are retreating from the capital city of Mogadishu. Over the past several days, Ethiopian forces backed a campaign to halt the Islamists' drive to unseat Somalia's U.N.-backed government.
• Edwards Kicks Off White House Run in New Orleans
  Former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards announces in New Orleans that he's running for president. The former North Carolina senator chose New Orleans to highlight his view that the government has failed to look after its people.
• Property Ownership Issue Divides Cubans, Exiles
  Cubans say that one of their biggest fears is the return of the exiles to claim property taken by the government during the revolution. And many in the exile community do want to return to claim what they lost. How that transition should be managed, however, is something no one fully agrees upon.
• 'Tis the Season for Hangovers!
  The medical term for a hangover is "veisalgia." It means, roughly, "the pain that follows debauchery." A look at why it happens and what your best bets are for a cure.

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