It's a big weekend on Lynn Rosetto Kaspar's show The Splendid Table. First up is Dara Moskowitz, talking about her oenophile how-to tome Drink This: Wine Made Simple. An excerpt on how to pick zinfandels is available here. The complete book is in the store now./**/Kaspar also interviews Monica Bhide about her cookbook Modern Spice: … Continue reading Splendid!

The headline above a recent KARE-11 news article is alarming: "Independent bookstores in Minn. fighting to stay alive," it says. But don't worry, the story is actually a happy one. Both the Bookcase in Wayzata and Uncle Hugo's/Uncle Edgar's are hanging in there, thank you.If you'd rather read your TV news, click here.--David E

Augsburg Fortress, the Minneapolis-based publishing arm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has unilaterally ended its employee retirement plan. Publishers Weekly reports, "At the end of 2009, retirement obligations totaled $24.2 million. Assets totaled $8.6 million."In a recent blog posting Beth A. Lewis, President & CEO, said, "This was a very difficult decision.... There … Continue reading Hard Times Indeed