Bob Collins
Lessons from summer camp, another side of Tsarnaev, the people who make ‘play ball’ possible, together again in Duluth, and Cheerios’ new ad. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
By Bob Collins
Bob Collins retired from Minnesota Public Radio in 2019 after 12 years of writing NewsCut and pointing out to complainants that posts weren’t news stories. A son of Massachusetts, he was a news editor 1992-1998, created the MPR News regional website in 1999, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day lamented that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.
The suit to stop the unionization of Minnesota home day-care operators, the unemployment rate drops in Minnesota, how those little memory slips might suggest Alzheimer’s, a man who wanted to testify against Whitey Bulger turns up dead, and the 76-year-old Milwaukee man who doesn’t feel “that bad” about killing a 13-year-old. Here’s today’s news conversation Read more →
Haven’t heard Officer Javier Pagan’s story of the Boston Marathon bombing? You should. Read more →
The British Open began today in Scotland. It’s a time to honor the worst game ever invented.
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For devout Muslims, the heat wave’s come at a challenging time. Read more →
A Detroit Free Press photographer was arrested by police as she filmed an arrest. While she was detained, the SIM card in her iPhone that she was using mysteriously disappeared. A man who didn’t identify himself as a cop told her to turn the camera off, and when she identified herself as a journalist, he Read more →
… but if you didn’t do anything wrong, what’s the problem? Also: the 40-year old photo that gives us reason to smile, Aaron’s last wish, what Twitter made a guy do at the All Star game, and just when you think you couldn’t love Carl Kasell any more. Read more →
Politicians are shocked to learn the things Patriot Act opponents warned them about years ago have come true, what’s the big deal with the Rolling Stone cover, Minneapolis spent $400,000 lobbying for the Vikings stadium, hookers and pols in Saint Paul, and the dead eagle. Here’s today’s news conversation with Mary Lucia on The Current.
What’s the best way to get a view of Minnesota from space? Stick a Minnesotan in space. In earlier missions aboard the International Space Station, we were given views of the Twin Cities, as if that’s the only part of Minnesota worth looking at. That changed today, courtesy of astronaut Karen Nyberg, who spent her Read more →
Is it time to wean ourselves off the skyway culture?
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If people really knew where the water goes when they flush the toilet, they might be a little more careful about what they throw in it.
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For all the symbolism our national bird embodies, it can be a pretty delicate bird. The Duluth News Tribune reports the bald eagle that was rescued after crashing onto a tarmac at the Duluth airport has been found dead. In the May incident, it and another eagle got their talons tangled. Mike Schrage, wildlife biologist Read more →
On the cover of the Rolling Stone, the rise of the baseball scorecard, why can’t a lemonade stand just be a lemonade stand, a step toward racial equality in Saint Paul, and the return of the bookmobile. Read more →
The Lark of Duluth crashed on Lake Superior today. The pilot escaped but it’s a setback for people who spent five years working on the project. Somehow, that story got us talking about Howard Hughes, the industrialist and famed aviator, and had us wondering if there are any industrialists left in the United States doing Read more →
A ban on the United States delivering government-originated programming directly to its citizens has been quietly lifted and the Twin Cities Somali audience is one reason why. Read more →