Bob Collins
The aftermath of the terrorism in Charlottesville has presented the greatest challenge to support for the breadth of the concept of free speech in years, and it appears to be softening.
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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.
We interrupt the ongoing horrible news of the day for the NewsCut version of a hit of oxygen: a story about kids and baseball. And a dangerous city. And a man who tries to make a difference in what is probably a lost cause.
Because what other choice do we really have?
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One can hardly blame the airline for decision, reported by the Star Tribune today, to follow the path of the cheap airlines that advertise low fares and then add fees for every ‘frill’ the customer wants. Frills like overhead bin space, and the option to carry on luggage. And leg room. The airline is planning to put more seats in its planes. Read more →
‘This is my country. My flesh has mixed with the soil of this continent for almost 400 years,’ Eric Chandler, of Duluth, writes. ‘My family helped build and defend a form of government that allows us to lurch forward to a better world. One where we are all created equal. That’s my heritage.’
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This picture, from Saturday’s white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, has started a mini-debate that is as old as journalism itself: When should journalists step in to help the subject of a story or photograph?
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A report by a law firm hired by the University of Minnesota Board of Regents says the university followed its own rules and the law when it suspended 10 football players last year in a Title IX investigation of the sexual assault of a woman.
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Other than Kirby Puckett, it’s hard to recall a figure in Minnesota sports who crashed and burned as hard as Jeff Dubay, the former sportstalk radio star in the Twin Cities. Read more →
It’s the last remaining concrete arrow in Minnesota, where the landscape was once dotted by them, to help steer air mail pilots to their destination.
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‘It crept in this morning, when I woke up, just thinking about everything that had happened, everything that my family and I had been through,’ Chad Bettis said. ‘I was holding back tears until the start.’ Read more →
Here’s a story you’ll never see covered on TV news: TV news is unfair territory for women. A couple of stories in the news this week provide testimonials to the fact.
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In the aftermath of the racial violence of Charlottesville, the Twitter account, Yes You’re Racist, has invited its audience to dox the families of white supremacists by publishing names. It’s all very wink-wink. It doesn’t instruct people to make life miserable for family members. It doesn’t have to.
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Yoga pants and visible hickeys are specifically banned in a lot of South Dakota schools but students with Confederate flag T-shirts might get away with it. Read more →
There’s a fair chance that more people have seen a 1942 Army documentary in the last 48 hours than saw it in theaters when the government produced and distributed the anti-fascism film. Read more →
Every Monday should start with a SpaceX launch and main booster return to earth.
We do some pretty cool things on this planet and today’s launch and recovery puts SpaceX near the top of the list. Read more →
A good love story can take many forms and, not surprisingly, Boyd Huppert of KARE 11 found a good one for his weekly series last evening. Read more →