Lifestyle

Evocative writing of food and a main character who's hard to love mix together in a new novel.

Retail experts say most Minnesotans are comfortable in their shopping habits -- the weekly trips to Target, the "I Love My Cub" decals on our cars, the familiar chains of home furniture stores. But in coming months some retailers from Europe promise to shake things up. The IKEA and Aldi chains are already generating consumer buzz for their approaches to home furnishings and food.

A potential transit workers strike has prompted a delay in the opening of the first segment of the new Twin Cities light rail line. Metropolitan Council chairman Peter Bell says the delay is a painful, but prudent decision. He talks with host Gary Eichten about the strike, other transit issues, and the future of the Metropolitan Council.

Gov. Pawlenty said "times have changed" with regard to gambling, and that gambling compacts negotiated with Indian tribes do not reflect current circumstances. Host Gary Eichten and his guests discuss the range of gambling proposals being considered at the legislature.

Gov. Pawlenty in his speech Thursday called for a re-examination of the 15-year-old gaming compacts that authorize the state's 11 American Indian tribes to operate casinos. The governor has long been an opponent of sanctioning new gambling facilities, but he's suggesting that a "better deal" could be negotiated with the tribes based on their current operations, perhaps one that requires them to share a portion of their gaming revenues with the state.

Most people know the modern piano evolved from the harpsichord. But few know there was an intermediate instrument, called the fortepiano. A Duluth concert features a rare treat: matched fortepianos playing works of Mozart in a way rarely heard today.

Find out if that magnolia or azalea you've had your eye on would make it through a Minnesota winter. Midmorning's Garden Guru gives us an update on the newly revised zone map that determines plant hardiness.

More people live in American suburbs than our country's cities or rural areas. Yet suburbs are often reviled and blamed for environmental and social problems. Has the dream gone awry?

Minnesota's surface area increases dramatically in the winter and along with it, a sense of community. In a live broadcast from frozen Gull Lake near Brainard, a discussion about how Minnesotan's use their lakes in the winter.

A live broadcast from The Grand View Lodge on Gull Lake features a preview of the Ice Fishing Extravaganza, the world's largest ice fishing contest.