Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• MnDOT chooses five finalists for 35W rebuild
  Officials with the Minnesota Department of Transportation will meet Friday with the five finalists, all of whom have worked on some of the largest projects in the nation.6:40 a.m.
• Searchers say third body believed found in wreckage
  Authorities said Thursday they had recovered the bodies of two victims from the site of the interstate bridge collapse and believed they had a third. If the third recovery is confirmed, it would bring the confirmed death toll to eight.6:45 a.m.
• Weather with Mark Seeley
  MPR's Perry Finelli talks with University of Minnesota Climatologist Mark Seeley about the latest weather news and looks ahead to the weekend forecast.6:55 a.m.
• Focus on gusset plates called 'overblown'
  The National Transportation Safety Board is downplaying the significance of gusset plates in the I-35W bridge collapse. The big steel plates hold the beams of the bridge structure together.7:20 a.m.
• Pawlenty's political future may be at stake after bridge calamity
  In the short term, political observers say the tragedy has raised Gov. Pawlenty's national visibility and shown him as a concerned and adaptable leader. But they also say Pawlenty could suffer from increased scrutiny of past decisions on highway and bridge repair.7:25 a.m.
• Rock's next generation
  For many Minnesota rock bands, it takes years to get a gig at First Avenue in Minneapolis. But for participants in the MacPhail Center for Music's summer rock camp, it took less than a week.7:55 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Launching a Life with $10 and a Dream
  Growing up in Tennessee in the 1940s, Larry Young was determined to get off his father's farm and do something else with his life. With $10 and a will to do whatever it took, Young set off for college.
• Iraq's Interior Ministry: Still Feared, Still Corrupt
  Iraq's Interior Ministry has become as feared today as it was under Saddam Hussein. Before the U.S. invasion, the ministry served as the pervasive, terrifying intelligence arm of Saddam's Baath Party, which kept a file on every Iraqi. Now Iraq's political parties are fighting to control the ministry.
• Vietnam Lessons Could Shape Iraq Exit
  The question of how best to walk away from Iraq is on the minds of Americans. President Bush wants to hand more of the conflict to Iraqis; many of his opponents simply want out. Lessons learned from Vietnam might shed some light on exiting Iraq — decision-makers from back then are serving in the current administration.
• Low-Cost Airlines Stimulate Travel, Economy
  Low-cost airlines prove a great commercial benefit to travelers — and also to the economy. In addition to hiring more workers, they transform airports by forcing aviation operators and travelers to be more efficient. Charlie Isdell, director of aviation for Philadelphia, says the arrival of Southwest Airlines to Philadelphia increased passenger totals by the millions.
• India Bristles at Western-Style Economy
  India's middle class is growing along with the country's western-style consumer economy. And so is a fundamental debate over whether the majority of Indians actually want to go in this direction. Some believe the changes threaten the well-being of millions of Indians shut out of the current boom.
• Divers Recover Victim of Collapsed Bridge
  Divers in Minneapolis have retrieved the body of at least one more victim from last week's bridge collapse. He was identified as Peter Hausmann, a 47-year-old computer consultant. A medical examiner says the remains of two more missing people may have been found, but they have yet to be identified.
• U.S. and Cuba Wrangle over Visas, Goods
  Things are heating up between the United States and Cuba. Dagaberto Rodriguez, who represents Havana in Washington, says the latest diplomatic squabble stems from the United States issuing only half of the 20,000 visas targeted for Cubans. U.S. officials say Cuba is blocking U.S. shipments to Havana.
• Jurors in Spector Murder Trial Visit Murder Site
  In Los Angeles, the murder trial of legendary music producer Phil Spector is winding down, more than four years after he was arrested in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson. The jury went on a field trip to see Spector's mansion where Clarkson died.
• Global Markets Respond to Credit Squeeze
  Asian stocks fell sharply, as fallout from the growing credit crunch stretched from France's largest publicly owned bank to the largest home-mortgage lender in the U.S. Amid the decline, the Bank of Japan says it injected more than $8 billion into money markets.
• Central Banks Flood Money Markets with Cash
  The credit market that upheld the U.S. economy is now dragging down investments. French bank BNP Paribas jolted U.S. markets when it suspended all activity in three investment funds, saying losses in U.S. subprime mortgages made it impossible to tell what their funds were worth. The Fed and other central banks flooded money markets with cash.

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