Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Minnesota rich in valuable minerals - and potential pollution
  New mineral exploration suggests that Minnesota holds a world-class deposit of metals such as copper, nickel, platinum and palladium.6:25 a.m.
• Short on cash? Try bartering
  If you run a business and lack cash in these times of tight credit, what do you do? More and more people are turning to an age-old transaction -- bartering.6:55 a.m.
• The next steps for St. Charles and North Star Foods
  Cleanup is underway at what's left of North Star Foods in St. Charles, Minnesota. Today at noon, employees of the food processing plant are scheduled to meet with company officials and talk about what's next after a fire destroyed the facility last Friday.7:20 a.m.
• Does Minneapolis need more rental housing?
  Minneapolis city officials say they are trying to shape the city's housing strategy to meet the needs of a growing and increasingly diverse population.7:25 a.m.
• Equal protection central to Senate appeal
  Later today, Norm Coleman's attorneys are expected to file a motion at the Minnesota Supreme Court to ask the high court to speed along Coleman's appeal of the out come of the U.S. Senate race. At the heart of the former senator's case is the claim that Minnesota counties violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause by applying different standards in the processing of absentee ballots.7:45 a.m.
• People watching is getting better
  As the weather has improved in Minnesota, so has the people-watching over at Lake Calhoun. And people-watching there was pretty darned good to begin with. Morning Edition Commentator Peter Smith explains.8:45 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Can Los Angeles Make Skid Row Safer?
  In 2006, the city of Los Angeles decided to crack down on crime and bring some order to Skid Row by introducing the Safer City Initiative. Critics say the program is not just targeting criminals — it's also criminalizing homelessness.
• Bailout Overseer Reports Progress To Congress
  Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, is charged with making sure that bailout funds are being used properly. In a report to Congress released Tuesday, Barofsky urges the Treasury to join him in asking banks to account for their use of TARP funds.
• Supreme Court To Hear School Strip-Search Case
  The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday on whether school administrators may strip-search a student based on mere suspicion that the student may possess drugs. The case involves the 2003 strip search of a 13-year-old student in Safford, Ariz.
• Tensions Rise Between United States, Pakistan
  In public, the United States and Pakistan are allies with a parallel interest in eradicating Islamist extremism. But behind the scenes, it's a complicated relationship — one that Pakistani and American analysts say is increasingly fraught with resentment, miscommunication and mistrust.
• Turkey, Kurds Ponder U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq
  Next year's planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq has injected a new urgency into some long-running disputes in the area. Turkey, for instance, is working hard to reach new understandings with the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, and with the central government in Baghdad. The diplomatic shift is raising both hopes and fears within Turkey's Kurdish community.
• Pulitzer High Offset By Low Newspaper Demand
  It's been a tough year for the newspaper industry. Which makes this year's announcement of the Pulitzer Prize winners a bittersweet moment. Even smaller newsrooms managed to find ways to do award-winning work.
• Obama, King Abdullah To Discuss Middle East Peace
  King Abdullah of Jordan will be the first Arab leader to meet President Obama in the Oval Office, when they hold talks today at the White House. The Jordanian monarch comes with a message — that the U.S. needs to work quickly to try to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks. But the prospects look pretty bleak.
• Zimbabwe's Central Bank Raids Private Accounts
  In Zimbabwe, the central bank governor has admitted that he took hard currency from the bank accounts of private businesses and foreign aid groups without permission.
• Sierra Leone's First Lady Takes On Health Care
  The West African country of Sierra Leone is still recovering from a decade of civil war. Sierra Leone's first lady, Sia Koroma, along with 13 other African first ladies, are meeting in Los Angeles to talk about health issues. Koroma talks with Renee Montagne about Sierra Leone which the United Nations says has the worst mortality rate in the world.
• Obama To Take Aim At Credit Card Abuses
  President Obama plans to crack down on deceptive credit-card industry practices that have left some consumers saddled with huge debts and soaring interest rates. The Washington Post reports that the heads of credit card divisions at 14 major banks are set to meet with the president and his top economic officials at the White House on Thursday.

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