Bob CollinsCan you steal a car if it never moves? Yes, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled today, reversing two lower courts which had said Somsalao Thonesavanh, of Nobles County, couldn’t be convicted of car theft because he didn’t take the car anywhere. 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.
You’re going to want to sit down for this. Read more →
The Athletic, a $30-a-year service that has operated in six cities in the United States — New York, Cleveland, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis and Philadelphia — has now added a seventh: the Twin Cities. It’s also adding other NHL cities, scooping up the top hockey writers in several hockey-crazed cities, following a pattern in which it has been gobbling up local papers’ best analysts.
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In times of national tragedy, it must be difficult for the politics-obsessed among us to resist a ‘serves ’em right’ smugness. Garrison Keillor couldn’t. Read more →
There may be no other job on the planet that seems as risky as the one Nick Underwood does.
He’s a hurricane hunter and today he was on the crew that flew a plane — intentionally — into Hurricane Irma, providing this video this afternoon on Facebook.
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Ken Burns’ ‘The War’ series provided a sentimental, if painful, look at World War II. There’s no way his latest epic can. It’s still too raw. America is still coming to grips with the discovery that our leaders are often con men. And sometimes, 50,000 young people die because of it. Read more →
It’s a pretty safe bet that the members of the Silver Chain Social Club never imagined the details of their lives would be enshrined forever in history by the Minnesota Historical Society.
The Silver Chain Social Club was an early-’70s swingers’ club in Minnesota. Read more →
The Minnesota Court of Appeals today threw out the conviction of a Brooklyn Park man, arrested on drug charges, because police violated his right to privacy when using a drug-sniffing dog to sniff outside his apartment door.
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Let’s give credit where it’s due in the story of Madison Bue, 11, of West Salem, Wis., who is saving for college by flipping houses. What a kid, eh? Read more →
For parents, the first day of school is like the feeling when you stop hitting yourself in the head with a hammer (trust me, or try it to find out on your own). Read more →
There cannot be a more complicated person who ever emerged from Minnesota’s cocoon, than Lindbergh, who grew up in an unhappy home in Little Falls, ushered in the era of long-distance flight, and lived with a fame that is incomprehensible by today’s standards. He was the most famous person in the world.
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Among the many mysteries of life is why some people survive the hand life has dealt them, and some are never able to take a punch. Read more →
Maine’s governor says the effort by communities to remove Confederate monuments is like taking down a 9/11 memorial. No it’s not.
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My 45th high school reunion is in October and it seems like a good time to show up, if only to brush up on my small-talk ability to avoid actually saying, ‘man, you got old.’ Read more →
Being a photographer is hard work. Just ask Tony Capobianco, a newspaper photographer, who was out of the line of fire for the ceremonial first pitch at Boston’s Fenway Park last night. Until he wasn’t. Read more →