Bob CollinsTrash collection gets people riled up like few other issues in cities in Minnesota, but is it the business of the state to make the choice for them because lawmakers want consumers to have a choice? The latest city to consider eliminating the free-for-all of trash collection is St. Paul, and that’s forced a Republican Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Politics
Virginia McLaurin was 104, when she was honored for working 40 hours a week working with students with severe mental and physical challenges. At the time, she had one wish: She wanted to meet the nation’s first black president. Read more →
As the dust-up between Donald Trump and the pope begins to fade, a new front in the definitions of Christianity and the Church has opened up with a St. Louis archbishop’s letter to his clergy to consider evicting the Girl Scouts from parishes that sponsor them. Read more →
I suppose it’s no secret that if you want to appeal to the ‘average’ person in America — or so the elitist political experts suggest — you must try to be a little less competent at the use of the English language.
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Hundreds are jamming the state Capitol today to protest two bills from the Wisconsin assembly: One, forbids any city from ordering its police departments not to question the immigration status of people. The other restricts local governments in issuing IDs to people who otherwise may have trouble getting one. Wisconsin is a voter ID state. Read more →
Tensions have increased between the new generation and the old guard since Black Lives Matter interrupted Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon, at a Hillary Clinton rally this month. Read more →
Scalia’s death has certainly ignited plenty of debate and speculation over factors real or imagined. But it’s the more human question that demands debate, a debate that probably hasn’t reared its head in this country since the death of President Richard Nixon: When is the proper time — if ever — to opine that you’re not sad to see someone dead? Read more →
Apparently, we’re not going to find out who paid for a Stearns County billboard that criticized Catholic Charities’ involvement in resettling programs, but it’s coming down anyway. Read more →
Nothing can make an American feel prouder of the country than to hear the stories of people who risked lives and left families for a better place. Ours. Read more →
A former candidate for Minnesota Supreme Court has lost her appeal stemming from a 2013 drunk driving arrest that surprised Republican officials in the state two weeks after endorsing her judicial bid. Read more →
Of course, you didn’t used to need a passport to return from Canada. But since 2001, the country has been more vigilant against the threat posed by 90-year-old Iowa natives. Read more →
A Pine County farmer’s plight shows the value of reading the fine print when signing up for health insurance under Minnesota’s version of Medicaid, known as Medical Assistance.
Scott Killerud, of Willow River, signed up for health insurance through MNsure, and found out his income qualified him for Medical Assistance, the Duluth News Tribune reports.
They’ve found out since then that the state has placed liens on their estate to pay for it.
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His body wasn’t cold yet before the partisans began their daily battle. Scalia did not enjoy the luxury of remembrance for something other than his job, although Ruth Bader Ginsberg gave it a collegial try. The two were best friends, she said, her decency obvious.
The rest of America? Not so much. Read more →
It was five years ago today that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ‘dropped the bomb,’ in his words, introducing legislation to strip public employee unions of their right to collective bargaining. It was a move that split Wisconsin and led to weeks of protests. How has it worked out?
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Ever wonder where some political reporters get their analysis? Judging by emails pried from the Department of State, they buy it from the politicians they cover by selling their integrity. Read more →