Bob CollinsThe researchers at the University of Texas Austin acknowledge that heavy smoking is still declining, but light smoking is increasing. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Archives for July 2015
Hard as it is to believe now, it was quite scandalous back in the early ’70s when White House correspondent Dan Rather and President Richard Nixon butted heads over a question at a news conference. Read more →
Pan-O-Prog, the neat Lakeville annual celebration that marks the opening of an industrial park years ago, nearly went off without a hitch this year until 10-month-old Berkley Bailey crossed the finish line in a baby-crawling race and was disqualified.
Read more →
Being a cop was a good life for Brooklyn Center police commander Brian Peters. So this week he gave away the money he earned on his last day on the job. Read more →
Not since Jimmy Valvano gave his famous speech at the ESPY awards ceremony years ago has an athlete delivered such a touching address as Cincinnati Bengal Devon Still did last night. Read more →
Do you recall that Star Tribune story about South St. Paul’s Fleming Field being encroached upon by neighbors and the planned removal of two homes to create a safety zone at the end of a northwest-heading runway?
You may also recall a video I made, showing that the southeast-heading runway already had the safety zone.
And, as it turns out, it was a good thing over the weekend. Read more →
When a small airplane loses power, the laws of physic says there’s only one place to go — down. A pilot might only have a few seconds to decide on making the best of a bad situation.
Roads make a good choice, especially if it’s in a sparsely populated area. But the shore of New Jersey isn’t sparsely populated. Read more →
That new stadium going up in Minneapolis is going up for one of the 50 most valuable sports teams in the world, Forbes reports today. Read more →
In Wisconsin, like Minnesota, it’s legal to ride a bicycle while drunk. Should it be?
The Capital Times in Madison asks today whether that’s such a great idea and, somewhat surprisingly, finds plenty of people who think it is. Read more →
(Update to this post here. ) “Ready! Fire! Aim!” is the way things work on social media and this week it took its toll on SuperAmerica when Facebook and Twitter repeated a second-hand allegation without even considering asking the question, “is this true?” It started with a post (since deleted) on Twitter and Facebook from Read more →
In Fargo, the First Amendment is running up against the creepiness of a man taking photos of women and children at city parks. Read more →
The myth surrounding Bob Dylan says that he was booed at the Newport Folk Festival 50 years ago this month when he plugged in an electric guitar to play three songs.
A new book says it’s not true, at least the way the story is told. Read more →
The ‘most enduring’ marriage in Minnesota has ended after 77 years.
The Duluth News Tribune says Dan ‘Pinky’ Skorich, of Marble, died earlier this month. He was 98. Read more →
This video, from 2013, might be the most shocking video of an aviation disaster ever recorded.
A Boeing 747 crashed while taking off from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Read more →
Just as it was during the crackdown on distracted driving, the Minnesota State Patrol’s Twitter account has been delightful, if depressing, reading since the start of its two-week crackdown on speeding.
The bottom line? Some people shouldn’t be driving. At all. Read more →