Image courtesy of breekp on Flickr

General Mills has bribed some 900 people -- most of them moms -- into blogging nice things about the company. In return for their positive PR work, they get free coupons and samples.

Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Collins reported the mom advertising army, which he spotted in Adweek. Here's what Collins had to say about it:

More >>

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably heard about the embarrassing and pointless riot Saturday near the University of Minnesota campus. The students who hosted the largest party at the site of the riot were told to leave the property after the landlord filed eviction notice for violating their lease agreement.

Well the landlord had a change of heart.

Perhaps the Dinkytown Rental owner realized this isn't exactly the best time to be evicting people who are quite happy to pay for overpriced and shitty Dinkytown housing. You have to take what you can get, even if that includes bonfires in the street.

More >>

When we were browsing the latest Minnesota Flickr photos, we came across this one titled "Heaven". Upon further inspection we learn this photo was taken at Valley Fair. If that's your version of heaven, we're sorry. So very sorry. It's particularly depressing if you've been on that raft ride. It's not very heavenly to be completely pummeled by waterfalls as your friends point and laugh.

Photo by Sreejith K, more photos on Flickr.

Image courtesy of dstrelau on Flickr

Looks like proposed legislation to ban trans-fats in the cities won't pass this year. Guess we'll all just get to stay chubby as we shovel in ice cream to soothe our woes about the economy.

Both the Minneapolis and St. Paul city councils had proposed banning trans-fats -- the substance that makes greasy fast food like french fries oh-so-yummy -- and requiring restaurants to include calorie contents on menus, according to the Strib.

"I'm not sure there's going to be appetite for it this year," said Minneapolis City Council Member Ralph Remington, an advocate for the proposals.

The economic slowdown, tight city budgets and pending city elections are slowing the introduction of the proposal in Minneapolis. St. Paul's City Council opted for a go-slow approach that includes surveying restaurants while waiting to see whether Congress acts on the issue.

New York has already enacted a proposal. Last year, caloric labels started popping up in Starbucks and other chains throughout Manhattan. Did you know that a Starbucks rice krispy treat has almost as many calories as a big fat brownie? So, go ahead and eat that chocolate.

Political TV ads never end. It might not be the season for it, but we've still got an empty Senate seat and people are starting to get really pissed off.

Liberal group Americans United for Change is trying to put the pressure on Gov. Tim Pawlenty to certify Al Franken as the winner. They have released a TV ad that will run in Twin Cities and Rochester cable stations, says the Pioneer Press. The group is asking Pawlenty to certify the election once the Minnesota Supreme Court appeal is complete.

Watch the video below.

More >>

Image courtesy of star5112 on Flickr

Looks like Sun Country, NWA, and Delta will let you cancel your travel plans to Mexico. Because, yeah, you can't really drink a fruity rum drink on the beach while wearing a swine-flu mask.

More >>

Photo by BluEyedA73

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruling today says that people busted with drunk driving can challenge the breathalyzer result in court.

According to the ruling, people have the right to the breathalyzer's source code if they can prove it will aid their defense, says Minnesota Public Radio. More >>

Today on Citypages.com's 'In The Stream' with TD Mischke:

• The old and the new: Meet LA's most prolific serial killer.
• Now take a trip down memory lane:

 

• Where memory lane meets today's LA Times.
• Comments anyone?

• No, I had not heard of this breed of goat. Yes, I thought it was a Monty Python skit. But, no it's a real breed of goat.

 



Tune in from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and feel free to leave comments about today's show below. Call and talk to Mischke live on the air: (651) 330-4091

Join the live chat with other Mischke fans. Drop by via browser or IRC client at irc.phazenet.com #mischke.

Comments WILL be posted within minutes -- please do not hit the 'Post' button more than once. If you are having trouble, send us an email.

Check out the previous shows in the archives or subscribe to the iTunes podcast.

Photo by Littletowngirl

Minnesota pork producers are pretty upset with this whole "swine flu" thing. And probably for good reason. They don't want people to stop chowing down on bacon or making out with pigs. It would probably cause the world to collapse.

But in case you were wondering, the name "swine flu" really doesn't mean you can get it from eating pork products, sleeping in beds with pigs or generally living a sloppy lifestyle. So fry up that porkchop, bunker down in your quarantine apartment and wait out this pending epidemic. Coughing flu patients won't find you there quietly oinking. More >>

At a time of record joblessness and a struggling economy, state officials are putting their efforts where they will do the least good: toward banning their citizens from accessing online gambling websites.

According to this Yahoo Finance story, which was prominently linked on the Drudge Report yesterday evening, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety is trying a "novel" technique -- using a federal law that restricts the use of phone lines for wagering.

And by "novel," we mean "sure to fail."

More >>