Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Letters to Mom
  Mother's Day is a good day for greeting card companies and florists, but it can be a tough time for people who have lost their mothers. Dee Dee Raap is one of those people. She lost her mother to a sudden heart attack in 1990, just before Christmas. Years later, she began writing letters to mother, telling stories and reliving memories. Cathy Wurzer talked with Dee Dee about the letters that are now collected in a book, "Dear Mom," which Dee Dee has self-published.6:25 a.m.
• A new opera aims to reveal the beautiful soul of the Elephant Man
  The tragic story of the Elephant Man is the tale of a beautiful soul trapped inside a ghastly body. His story has inspired a play, a movie and most recently a French opera. The Minnesota Opera opens the U.S. premiere of "Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man" on Saturday.6:50 a.m.
• Convention to whittle 6th District candidate field
  Democrats in the 6th Congressional District will meet Saturday in Monticello to endorse a candidate for the U.S. House.7:20 a.m.
• Waskish stakes a future on walleye
  The walleye fishing season opens this weekend in Minnesota. That's a big deal on Upper Red Lake because walleye fishing has been banned there since 1999.7:50 a.m.
• Immigrants old and new are side by side on Lake St.
  If you're looking for a decent tortilla in Minneapolis, it's hard to go wrong on E. Lake St. That's where you'll find many recent Latino immigrants, and a whole neighborhood of Latino shops. But if you scratch the surface of the Latino culture, you'll find the remnant of another wave of immigration underneath.8:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Starting a Romance, Starting a Family
  Stories about how families begin are as varied as families themselves. An accidental meeting can become an act of destiny -- and the stuff of family legend. For 15-year-old Julia Pilowsky, the story starts with her grandmother going to a dance.
• Hidden Kitchen Mama
  In honor of Mother's Day, The Kitchen Sisters linger in the room in the house where families gather and children are fed, where all good parties begin and end. The room where the best stories are told.
• NSA Domestic Spying Report Roils Washington
  Congress is demanding answers from the Bush administration about published allegations that the National Security Agency is secretly collecting the phone records of millions of Americans. Lawmakers and privacy advocates say they're still not being told the full story about the domestic activities of the NSA.
• Sen. Leahy Looking for Answers on NSA Operations
  Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont questions the legality of reported efforts to collect domestic phone call data. Leahy, the ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee, tells John Ydstie that the news -- if true -- is the latest example of a White House pursuing policies without proper Congressional oversight.
• As DNA Databases Grow, Uses Grow Too
  Here's a scenario: police take a blood sample from a crime scene. They compare the DNA to that of convicted criminals, but get no match. But they find someone with similar DNA, and that leads them to a relative of the near match. DNA databases are growing rapidly and could be used to cast a wider DNA surveillance net than anyone ever expected.
• Irwin Allen: 'Master of Disaster'
  Commentator John Ridley pays tribute to legendary Hollywood producer Irwin Allen, frequently called the "Master of Disaster." Allen set the standard for large-scale disaster movies. His first has been remade into Poseidon, opening today.
• Medicare Drug Deadline Looms with Millions Unsigned
  Monday is the deadline to sign up for the new Medicare drug benefit. People joining the program past the deadline will receive a reduced benefit. But the deadline may be extended because of how many people have yet to sign up, a number that could be as high as 10 million.
• Western Farms Look for More Immigrant Workers
  As Congress debates proposals to crack down on illegal immigration, major farm operations in the West say they can't hire enough immigrant workers, legal or otherwise. We talk to a job broker who's in the business of finding immigrants to harvest crops in places like Visalia, Calif.
• California Town Aims to Bar Illegal Immigrants from Renting
  On Monday, May 15, the city council in San Bernardino, Calif., will vote on an ordinance that will make it illegal for landlords to rent to undocumented immigrants. It would also prohibit the hiring of day laborers. Under the ordinance, workers must prove they are in the country legally. Steven Cuevas of member station KPCC reports.
• Congress Sends $70 Billion Tax Package to President
  The U.S. Congress passes a $70 billion tax-cut package that would extend lower capital gains rates for investors. President Bush says he will gladly sign the bill into law. John Ydstie talks about the tax package with Len Burman of the Tax Policy Center.

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