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.
Suicide attempts don’t generate news stories but this time people in the area took cellphone video of the rescue attempt, so it was only natural that the focus on the story is the heroic work of officers who told the woman that people really do love her. Read more →
It’s safe to say that at least in Mankato, quarries make lousy neighbors. The Mankato Free Press reports a blast from a quarry yesterday sent bowling-ball-size rocks into the neighborhood, smashing siding on at least one home.
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Of course, reality is different than what’s on the op-ed page. Kids are still going to get homework, classes will start at sun up, and teachers will still have to spend their own money, if they want the supplies they think their students need. Read more →
It’s impossible to imagine that there’s anyone walking the planet who doesn’t realize what will happen in a nuclear war, and for decades that fact alone has been enough to prevent a holocaust that destroys the blue dot. And yet, here we are, comforted only by the thought that two of them can’t possibly be insane enough to try. Read more →
Michael Kadar, the man accused of making at least 245 threatening calls to Jewish Community Centers, apparently was a threat-maker for hire, The Atlantic reports today. Read more →
The Google engineer who thought the rest of his company should know that women are biologically inferior as members of the tech industry has been fired and believes his constitutional rights have been denied. Read more →
Fifteen million dollars is the price of St. Paul’s self-esteem problem.
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We understand the whole ‘tough guy’ thing that dominates football, but Vikings coach Mike Zimmer might be taking things a little too far, elevating the importance of the sport. Read more →
KARE 11’s Lou Raguse reports someone apparently swiped over 100 cards from Roger Wilson’s funeral in Monticello. They were stacked near his ashes in the back of a church.
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If you’re going to play in a girl’s soccer league in America in 2017, you probably should have long hair, lest you want to get a good look at the wonderful world of adults in organized youth sports.
In Madison, Wis., the girls on one soccer team have been hearing it from opponents because they like to wear their hair short. They’re pushing back, however. Read more →
A Toronto police officer has proven that sometimes you have to throw the book away.
Niran Jeyanesan was called to the local Walmart last night on a shoplifting complaint.
Store security was holding an 18-year old man who was in the process of stealing a dress shirt, tie, and socks. Read more →
Don Baylor wasn’t with the Twins very long. He was a late-season pickup (from the Boston Red Sox) for a team trying to win a pennant. He was 38 by then without much left in the tank. He played only 20 regular season games here. Read more →
If you’re a reasonable person, Rowda Asad’s comment to MPR reporter Doualy Xaykaothao in the aftermath of the weekend bombing of the Islamic Center in Bloomington was a gut punch.
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The ‘magic’ of radio was — and in some places still is — its ability to provide a shared experience. The Rich Petersons catered to an audience that didn’t want to be alone, even when they were alone.
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Nothing can scare despots like music. Wuilly Arteaga, dressed in the colors of Venezuela, stood against the thugs who are stealing democracy in his country armed only with a violin and a bucketload of courage.
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Bob Collins