Bob Collins
The ‘Sugardale barn’ on I-35 north of Northfield is no more. It is now blue. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Archives for July 2015
Alfred Postell is mostly lost to the world now, a victim of an illness that denied the world his brilliance. He’s a reality check that anyone can succumb to mental illness.
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It wasn’t an accident that NASA gave Facebook-owned Instagram a head start for the image of Pluto, obtained this morning by the New Horizons spacecraft. NASA wants to appeal to a new generation. The old generation hasn’t done much in the interest of space exploration. Read more →
‘Uncle Harvey’s Mausoleum’ — also known as ‘the cribs’ in Lake Superior in Duluth — changed last winter when a concrete column ‘disappeared.’
Slowly — too slowly, perhaps — the landmark is disappearing. Read more →
We don’t recommend violence against anyone, but, truthfully, we at least have some understanding for those doing something stupid while battling an invasive species in Minnesota — the guy who mows his lawn early in the morning.
Listen to me, Minnesota. Seven in the morning is too early to mow your lawn!
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There are 6,000 or so cemeteries in Minnesota and over half of them may be abandoned, according to the Minnesota state archeologist, Scott Anfinson.
Also: Minnesota has a state archeologist. Read more →
When a woman was badly injured by a foul ball in Boston earlier this season, you had to suspect that there’d be a cry for more protection for spectators at baseball games. Read more →
People have respiratory diseases. Air pollution is particularly troublesome for people with respiratory diseases. People die from respiratory diseases. Therefore, air pollution has a role in the deaths of people.
What’s particularly fascinating about the report, however, isn’t the headline-grabbing number of deaths; it’s that it takes less air pollution to cause health problems than apparently it once did. Read more →
Boy Scouts aren’t much into camping in Wisconsin anymore and parents apparently aren’t all that keen about letting them go. Read more →
No Minnesotans were on the list of commuted sentences of individuals President Barack Obama said bore the brunt of overly harsh sentences for non-violent drug offenses.
But Steven Donovan of Oak Creek, Wis., received a commutation of his 1992 life sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; interstate travel to promote distribution of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Read more →
Bear researcher Lynn Rogers has struck out at the Minnesota Court of Appeals in his attempt to be allowed to attach a tracking collar to bears. Read more →
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has again declared that the law making it a crime to refuse to submit to DUI testing is constitutional. The Court ruled today (pdf) in the case of Tarah Louise Fichtner of Hermantown, who was stopped and arrested in 2013 after she failed two of three field sobriety tests but Read more →
Economists haven’t been able to convince cities that there’s no monetary gain in dishing out millions of dollars to wealthy sports teams owners for sports stadiums.
Maybe it’s time for a comedian to take a crack at it. Read more →
Not to worry, Confederate flags fans. There are still plenty of ways to honor racism and segregation and all that ‘history’ and ‘heritage.’
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There’s no milk carton race anymore in the Minneapolis Aquatennial because — oh, who knows what the Downtown Council was thinking when trimming the sails of the traditional race.
No matter. Chetek, Wis., steps in as the cardboard boat capital of the area. The town, just south of Barron, hosts LibertyFest each July Read more →