Bob CollinsThe University of Minnesota tried its best to hide the fact that selling the naming rights to Mariucci Arena was anything but a grab for cash at the expense of sports history. 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.
Wisconsin is the only state that doesn’t treat first-time drunk driving as a crime and that apparently is the way it’s going to stay, the La Crosse Tribune says today.
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An idea hatched by some private schools — including Blake in Minneapolis and Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul — may be about to revolutionize how your kids get into college, let alone how they approach their work in high school.
They want to get rid of grades and course information in high school transcripts. Read more →
There’s a lot of money in Woodbury, one of the most affluent communities in Minnesota. But not enough for a life guard at the city’s Carver Lake and now a five year old boy is dead. From the sound of things, it’s lucky his rescuer is waking up today, too.
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From available evidence, a Minneapolis police officer wasn’t being threatened by a dog when he answered a burglar alarm at a home in north Minneapolis Saturday afternoon. But Ciroc and Rocko, two Staffordshire terrier therapy dogs, got shot anyway.
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Steve Winfree has a lot of worries on his mind. He started dialysis in November and he needs a kidney for a transplant. But he’s not so consumed with worry that he can’t appreciate the excitement of opening a new pack of Topps baseball cards.
It’s a stress-relief hobby for him and his wife, Heather. Read more →
No good deed goes unpunished, the quip goes, and make no mistake: Laura Benedict, of Augusta, Maine, does good deeds when she holds fundraisers at her restaurant. But there’s a limit on how much goodness the state of Maine can stand. Read more →
Times should be good again soon for restaurants in St. Louis. Missouri is cutting the minium wage back to $7.70 again after St. Louis had hiked it to $10 two months ago and it was to go up another $1 in January. Read more →
Oskaloosa, Iowa, like many government institutions, begins its City Council meetings with an invocation.
It’s usually given by a member of the clergy but when the Eastern Iowa Atheists group asked to give last night’s opening message, the city said “sure”, the Oskaloosa Herald says. Read more →
A Minnesota school district is putting weight behind the philosophy that substance abuse deserves treatment more than punishment.
Up until recently, the long-time policy for athletes in the Austin, Minn., schools was if a player is caught using chemicals, they’re benched for nine games or nine weeks, whichever is longer. A second offense carries a one-year suspension from the sport. A third infraction carries an additional year’s suspension. Read more →
The labor lines are being drawn in Michigan where goats are being employed to eat poison ivy on the campus of Western Michigan University and AFSCME is not happy.
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If data collected by Minnesota’s state and local government is public, why do we have to pay so much to get it?
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Jack Bohmert, 82, of Oak Park Heights, entered hospice two weeks ago and created a bucket list of things he wanted to accomplish before he goes.
At the top of the list was a ride across the new St. Croix River bridge, which doesn’t open until next month. Read more →
Shoshana and Ari Simones of Phoenix were on vacation when someone spray-painted a swastika and the word “Jew” outside their home. Their neighbors covered it with paper but when they got home, the couple took it down and let everyone see what we’re becoming.
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