Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• State of the State: Dayton defends budget plan, supports same-sex marriage
  DFL Gov. Mark Dayton used his third State of the State address to make an expected defense of his budget proposal and make a declaration of his support for legalizing same-sex marriage, but stopped just short of calling for such a bill this session.5:35 a.m.
• U of M seeks state funding; lawmakers want admin. spending answers
  Students and top officials from the University of Minnesota are rallying at the Capitol today. It's an annual tradition in which they urge legislators to support the university's budget requests. But this year they're doing it amid an uproar over administrative spending.6:45 a.m.
• 'The Book of Mormon' musical from a theologian's perspective
  Bruce Forbes, an ordained United Methodist minister and professor of Religious Studies at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, takes in "The Book of Mormon," now playing in Minneapolis, and offers his thoughts.6:50 a.m.
• Electronic pull-tab gambling misses monthly revenue projections
  Minnesota's roll out of electronic pull tabs continues to fall short of projections. After a strong debut in a handful of bars in September, the expansion of the games has been slow, and the games in bars aren't drawing the crowds backers had hoped. Now, calls for change are starting at the Capitol.7:20 a.m.
• Renovated St. Paul crime lab costs more, will do less
  The St. Paul City Council released more than a million dollars in funding to fix the troubled St. Paul police crime lab. The lab will not resume drug testing, work which will be outsourced, but instead will focus on fingerprints, crime scene processing, video analysis and reconstructing crash scenes.7:45 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Rep. Labrador Could Shape House Plan On Immigration
  GOP Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho opposes the pathway to citizenship proposed by the president and a bipartisan group of senators. He's also Hispanic and a former immigration lawyer who recently joined the House subcommittee that deals with immigration issues. Steve Inskeep talks to Labrador about the current debate.
• Postal Service To End Saturday Mail Delivery
  The move is expected to save some $2 billion a year. Packages, however, will still be delivered on Saturday.
• 'Don't Give Up On Us': Puerto Ricans Wrestle With High Crime
  Puerto Rico's per capita murder rate is six times that of the U.S. as a whole. And with violence escalating, many residents are fleeing to the mainland. Still others hope to turn their home around.
• Rare Brooklyn Atlantics Baseball Card Sells At Auction
  One of the oldest known baseball cards in the nation was sold at auction in Maine Wednesday for $80,000. The card from 1865 shows players for the Brooklyn Atlantics amateur team, grouped around their manager. A man found the card in an old photo album he bought while antiquing.
• Obama Picks REI Ceo Jewell To Head Interior
  President Obama is nominating the CEO of outdoor retailer REI to head the Interior Department. Sally Jewell is a former banking executive who's been with REI since 2005. Jewell is known for her emphasis on environmentalism.
• 'Give Me The Money Or I'll Shoot The Trees'
  A pristine rainforest in Ecuador sits on top of the equivalent of millions of barrels of oil. Ecuador has offered a deal to the rich countries of the world: Pay us billions of dollars, and we'll leave the rainforest untouched.
• 1 Boeing 787 Permitted To Fly From Fort Worth To Seattle
  Regulators grounded 50 Dreamliners worldwide after batteries overheated on two separate flights last month. Only crew will be on board for Thursday's flight to move one 787 from a Boeing plant in Fort Worth to a plant near Seattle. Engineers will then study the plane and its batteries and look at ways to reduce fire risk.
• Privatization Of Greek Assets Runs Behind Schedule
  The sweeping fire sale is a requirement for multibillion-euro bailouts. And the Chinese, Russian and Arab companies lining up to take advantage of the steep discounts are making Greeks and other Europeans nervous.
• Couple Buys Disgraced Financier's Iowa Estate
  The 20-acre estate outside Cedar Falls, Iowa, was sold for a winning bid of about $600,000. The property used to be owned by Russell Wasendorf, who was recently sentenced to 50 years in jail for embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from investors.
• Obama's Pick For CIA Chief To Face Senate Scrutiny
  As Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan has been associated with some controversial policies, including the use of armed drones. It's unlikely his appointment as CIA director is in trouble, but he's likely to face questions on drones as well as the agency's interrogation policies.

Resources

• Marketplace Tech Report®
• Marketplace Morning Report®
• Mark Seeley's WeatherTalk

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories