If the idea of open caskets at funerals is upsetting to you, you may not care much for what may well be a new way saying ‘goodbye’ to the departed: staging them. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
This or That
Newspapers have been making money from obituaries for years but with the internet not missing many tricks in making a buck, announcing someone’s death can cause some real problems. Read more →
Brazil’s soccer team arrived back in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday following its 2-to-1 quarterfinal loss to Belgium late last week.
It wasn’t pretty. Read more →
Stephanie Ofsthun says she barely remembers losing her wallet as a teenager. But now she has her combination for her school locker, pictures of her friends, her Social Security card, and a Dayton’s charge card back again. Read more →
For reasons that vary, NPR’s annual tradition of reading aloud the Declaration of Independence seemed to carry more impact today than the rote recitation of recent years. Read more →
NPR’s latest news video notes that the expression of patriotism — the Pledge of Allegiance — comes from a Socialist, Baptist, advertising copywriter who wrote the Pledge of Allegiance in order to sell more magazines.
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Be honest. Did you think the rescuers were going to find that Thai soccer team still alive in the caves they were exploring when they were trapped by rising waters? Read more →
If you don’t know what a flashing yellow arrow is for, get off the road until you do. Read more →
If dogs could talk, the first question they’d probably ask is, “what’s the deal with humans?”
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For months now, We Rate Dogs on Twitter has been an oasis in a world of nonsense and bickering.
Need a break from life? There’s nothing a dog can’t do.
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Minnesota’s capital this year will not have a July Fourth fireworks display. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter on Wednesday officially drove a stake through what was left of the holiday in his city, citing budget costs. Read more →
Oh, let he who has not fit the entire contents of a small office into the back of a too-small pickup truck cast the first stone. Read more →
The old saying is ‘any landing you walk away from is a good landing’ but this is about as close as anyone can get to dying in an airplane while still walking away. Read more →
Kaitlyn Strom’s 15 minutes of fame is stretching into its 16th minute and beyond.
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Twitter provides a safe haven for white supremacists and Nazis but it’s got a real problem with people who tweet phone numbers of politicians. Read more →