Bob CollinsWould younger generations be happier if they were back in the ’50s? Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Archives for March 2017
And no hour is too late to keep the salute between ship and Lift Bridge quiet. Read more →
The first fitting of a prom dress for a North Dakota teen didn’t go all that well. ‘It was pretty scratchy at first,” junior Gretchen Ivers tells the Grand Forks Herald. That’s what happens when you make a prom dress out of pop tops. Read more →
Schanno built a pond on the Baptism River in Finland and stocked it with brook trout and rainbow trout for one reason: so the old-timers at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Silver Bay could go fishing.
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An Anoka ammunition manufacturer is cutting jobs. People aren’t afraid of losing their guns, and it’s killing the industry. Read more →
Caleb David Duda was just 2 when he was placed in the foster home of Dave and Amanda Duda of Milwaukee. He’d been abused and neglected and even at 2, had multiple placements in foster homes. His birthparents’ terminated their rights. That was April 2014. Read more →
Hockey is pretty big in Grand Forks. But not for women. Not anymore, apparently. Read more →
In Quincy, Mass., Carol Tan Wong died of lung cancer. During his eulogy for his mother, Adrian Wong said ‘she was not a smoker. Not exposed to secondhand smoke. Never worked with chemicals. She was simply unlucky.’ Then, a stranger suggested otherwise. Read more →
My non-Minnesota Facebook friends have been posting this video in the last 24 hours which makes this state look like the coolest place in the country.
They’re not wrong. Read more →
No doubt, it’s true that the teacher shortage is nuanced and complicated and beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. I just know every story I read about teaching is a story about people far better than me.
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Despite the daily news cycle which tends to portray the situation in Minnesota in the most dire terms, there’s a reality here we should consider: Survey after survey on topic after topic shows that things are better here than almost anywhere else.
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Can Bob Dylan really be claimed as ‘one of us’ if he once penned a tribute song to Wisconsin? Read more →
Ira Glass’ essay about his neighbor and friend is as personal an insight into Glass as you’re ever going to hear. But it also motivates us to reflect on the vast drama of people living their lives every day — drama that usually goes unnoticed but reflects the essence of who we are, quirks and all. Pain and all.
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The White House reportedly cites a scheduling conflict, but there are other possible reasons. First, presidents rarely look good throwing baseballs and, second, as President Obama found out in 2010, it’s a good way to be reminded how much the fans hate you. Read more →
Sidewalks hearken back to a day in America where people walked to places, maybe even stopped to talk to neighbors. But that romanticized view has no place in America, judging from the reaction of people at a meeting Monday night.
Homeowners in Mankato hate sidewalks. Read more →