Bob Collins
Lost around here in the spotlight on Minneapolis last night was another case of local kids making good when Trampled by Turtles made its second appearance on the Letterman show. Which, of course, led to a short discussion on taconite.
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Arts & Culture
MPR’s Jay Gabler wrote yesterday about Dylan Spoering, the young Uptown boy who charmed everybody with his plan to hold a piano recital outside his home, the way others might put up a lemonade stand. The friends and neighbors in the area took it from there, whipping up support, creating a Facebook page, and trying Read more →
What happens when you invite 350 musicians to learn a new piece of music, then invite them to assemble on the street and take a crack at playing it? NPR did it. “But what we’ve found, and what is so incredibly gratifying, is that amazingly talented and generous people join in — this year, about Read more →
One of these days on NewsCut we’re going to have to have an NCAA-Tournament-style competition of summertime festivals. When we do, remind me to include Pequot Lakes’ Bean Hole Days, which wrapped up yesterday, according to the Brainerd Dispatch. There’s something oddly comforting about a town that will turn out in the middle of the Read more →
The Minneapolis Police Department is looking for some help to find the likely illiterate who did this: Someone torched the Little Library on Minnehaha Avenue on Sunday, according to a post on the MPD Facebook page. It takes a lot of hate to burn a book.
My mother, now 92 years old, spends many of her days reading the letters sent her during World War II — love letters, I presume, since they’d only been married a few months when he headed to Europe. They are bundled and tied with ribbons, and when she finishes reading them, she starts at the Read more →
As of this afternoon, Zack Danger Brown, the man who started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money by promising to make potato salad, owes $21,000. That’s the conclusion of the Tax Foundation. In its blog post today, the group considers the over $70,000 people have thrown at Brown so far: We will cap the amount Read more →
Noisey, the digital music channel, has made a stop in Minneapolis for the third installment (after Seattle and Denver) of its Made in America series. And although we did spend five minutes contemplating loitering outside Paisley Park like a stalker, there’s so much more to the area than “purfiying yourself in the waters of Lake Read more →
There’s nothing wrong with the world that a little more romping in mud can’t cure. Read more →
When you have a copyright, child abuse is like Kryptonite.
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Edward Schumacher-Matos’ contract with NPR is up in about a month and since the NPR ombudsman authored a takedown of his employer’s coverage of the removal of Native American children from their families in South Dakota, he has written very few analyses of NPR since. Today he authored an assessment of NPR’s decision to cancel Read more →
Gage Stroening was camping in Wisconsin when he was struck by lightning. But he still made the show. Read more →
MPR’s Department of What Were They Thinking sends along today’s head scratcher. In Leawood, Kansas, authorities have told Spencer Collins, 9, his Little Free Library has to go. “Reading is one of my favorite things to do,” he tells a local TV station. “We built it on Mother’s Day as a present for my mom Read more →
It’s back to the ’50s for the American Doll collection. The toy maker, Mattel, is retiring four of its dolls, including the only Asian American doll in its collection. Read more →
Everybody wants to be a star in Minnesota, apparently. Read more →