Saying goodbye to George McGovern and Russell Means

Today on the MPR News Update we remember former South Dakota Sen. George McGovern, who died this weekend in Sioux Falls, and also note the passing of American Indian activist Russell Means. Managers of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra have locked out musicians. And the Minnesota Lynx's bid for a second consecutive WNBA championship title is over.

MORE THAN NIXON'S OPPONENT: George McGovern, the small-town South Dakota boy who won his party's nomination for president in 1972, died early Sunday in Sioux Falls, S.D. He was 90. McGovern will best be remembered for his crushing loss in the 1972 presidential race and longstanding opposition to the Vietnam War. But he fought many other battles in a life that included a love for both the stark plains of South Dakota and Washington's rough-and-tumble politics.

A DEATH IN PORCUPINE: Another national public figure has also just passed away in South Dakota. Russell Means, a former American Indian Movement activist who helped lead the 1973 uprising at Wounded Knee, reveled in stirring up attention and appeared in several Hollywood films, died early Monday at his ranch in Porcupine, S.D. He was 72 years old and had fought throat cancer. Bob Collins, at News Cut, found this videotaped interview with Means from a few years back.

THE WELLSTONE FACTOR: Ten years after the Oct. 25, 2002, plane crash that killed Sen. Paul Wellstone, his wife, Sheila, daughter Marcia and five others, many of Wellstone's former staffers still work in and around Congress and say they try to live up to his ideals. Step into the office of a former staffer to the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone and you're likely to notice a small shrine to the liberal icon.

DEBATEABLE: In case you haven't heard, the third and final presidential debate takes place tonight in Florida, with President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney squaring off on international affairs with Bob Scheiffer of CBS News moderating. We'll be live-blogging the debate at this link. Check in a half-hour before the event begins.

WELL, ARE YOU? Are you better off today than you were four years ago? The question, made famous by President Reagan in a 1980 debate, has reemerged as a popular talking point this election season. Turns out the way you answer may depend on your personal story. Is this even a fair question that can best assess our current state on the economy, national security, personal income and job stability? How can we best answer this question for ourselves? will still have to sort out many of the details needed to implement the new election system. Not yet known is which IDs will be considered valid, how the state will distribute the free ones and how much that will cost. (Check out this video that examines the issue, as well.)

FACT-CHECKING THE MARRIAGE AMENDMENT AD: In a new ad Minnesota for Marriage, the main group supporting a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman, argues that Minnesotans should vote for the amendment to prevent people from being punished for their views on same-sex marriage. Just take a look at what has happened in other states where same-sex marriage is legal, the ad states: "People who believe marriage is one man and one woman have faced consequences." Poligraph finds that whilet here's truth to the examples in the ad, the TV spot overall is misleading.

EXPOSED: Ever hear of Joe Forkeybolo? He's a Minnesota conservative who "is tired of working half the year to pay for the lazy half of society to sit around and collect free handouts," according to his Facebook page. His conservative network is large. He got his law degree from Michele Bachmann's alma mater. And apparently he doesn't exist in the real world: We found out he's actually the conservative alter-ego of Democratic operative Nate Dybvig.

LYNX PASS THE CROWN: Minnesota's WNBA Lynx were hoping to become the first team in the league to record back-to-back championship titles since Los Angeles in 2002, but the Indiana Fever proved too tough to beat on Sunday night, vanquishing the Minnesotans 3-1 in the best-of-five series. We have a story, some analysis from Morning Edition and a photo gallery here.

VIKINGS WIN: Sports-wise there was better news over at the Metrodome: Adrian Peterson Peterson ran 23 times for 153 yards and a first-quarter touchdown and the Vikes survived an ugly second half to hang on and beat Arizona 21-14 Sunday, handing the Cardinals their third straight loss. You can see what the win looked like in this photo gallery.

GOPHERS TRAMPLED: The news was not so good from Madison: James White raced 15 times through Minnesota's defense for 175 yards rushing and three touchdowns, carrying Wisconsin to a 38-13 victory over Minnesota on Saturday, the ninth straight time the Badgers have beaten the Gophers to keep Paul Bunyan's Axe.

STRIPPED: The news for Lance Armstrong just keeps getting worse. Cycling's governing body agreed Monday to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and ban him for life, following a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that accused him of leading a massive doping program on his teams. Last week, a long list of sponsors began deserting him as well.

DOUBLE LOCK-OUT: After months of negotiations failed to produce to a contract agreement, the management of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra locked out its musicians as of 6 p.m. Sunday. The musicians' negotiating committee chairwoman, Carole Mason Smith, said the musicians want to keep playing and talking, but she said management refused offers of temporary pay cuts to keep the orchestra functioning. The SPCO musician lock-out follows a similar, recent development with the Minnesota Orchestra.

PRIOR HISTORY: The Wisconsin man accused of opening fire at the salon where his wife worked near Milwaukee, killing three women and wounding four others, had a history of domestic abuse, with allegations that he had slashed his wife's tires a few weeks earlier, police said.

FIRED UP: Donovan Palmquist remembers how, as a beginning potter decades ago, he needed a studio and kiln. So he struck a deal with another potter he knew. "You're welcome to rent space," he remembers the man saying. But there was a catch: "If you want a kiln you have to fix it." So he did -- despite the fact that he had no training, or repair manual -- while somehow managing to dodge any unplanned pyrotechnics. Now, he tells Minnesota Sounds and Voices reporter Dan Olson, he builds kilns to fire other potters' creations. We have a photo gallery of his Framington home base here.

YOU BETCHA: Ask folks in Fargo what they first thought about the 1996 movie that made their city famous, and some will tell you they were not fans. Some residents initially didn't appreciate the Coen brothers' dark humor or were offended by the extreme violence and depiction of Scandinavian culture. Not to mention those heavy accents on "you betcha" and "ya sure."But the fame and cash it brought Fargo eventually brought the city around. Now, 16 years later, Fargo awaits the debut of a new cable television show by the same name

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