Bob Collins
There is an enormous disconnect in this country on the subject of teachers and educators. They are attacked as a group. But individually, they are beloved. Tim Christensen’s obituary shows it. 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.
People of a certain age have some reckoning to do soon: They have to figure out when it’s time to go.
It’s important to get it right. Staying too long in a profession and a job threatens a person’s legacy. Leaving too soon can be personally heartbreaking. Read more →
Where on earth would high school kids playing hockey learn that brawling on the ice is acceptable behavior for youth sports?
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The country had been reeling since Vietnam, inflation was killing paychecks, and nuclear war with the Soviet Union seemed inevitable. Read more →
Finding things that Democrats and Republicans can agree on might seem like an impossible task, but here’s one possibility: We shouldn’t have to pay money to file our taxes. Read more →
Imani Boyette, a center for the Chicago Sky of the WNBA, was a Candice Wiggins fan when she was growing up, but she is not at all happy with Wiggins’ assertion that she was bullied in her time in the league because she’s straight. Read more →
Tucked in the obituaries in today’s Worthington Daily Globe is the story of John and Beverly Troth, who were both 95 years old when they died eight hours apart on Monday.
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The first big race of the season is set for Sunday — the Daytona 500 — and there’s a stench of a sport’s death mixing with that of burning rubber. Read more →
The most frightening part of the White House’s assertion that the free press is the enemy of the American people is that the free press has had to work so hard in subsequent days to point out why it’s not. Read more →
If ever there was an indicator that the Upper Midwest has lost its weather mojo, it’s this: the American Birkebeiner — the iconic northern Wisconsin cross country ski race — is likely to be a foot race this year. Read more →
The police in Northampton, Mass., found out the hard way that even the best of intentions can be a problem. Read more →
This is Wayne Shaw, who was caught eating a meat pie on the sideline during the match between Sutton United and Arsenal on Monday night.
Scandalous, indeed! Read more →
In Pelham, N.H., a young man with autism was denied entry to the school’s a semi-formal dance because he wore a sweatshirt and sweatpants.
There’s a good reason he did. Read more →
If you’re trying to convince your constituents that you respect opposing views, it’s probably best not to insult them in the process. Rep. Jason Lewis has been under some fire for telephone town halls rather than showing up in person. On Monday night in Northfield, citizens held a town hall forum where they knew he Read more →
In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Candace Wiggins says she retired abruptly because she found the WNBA “depressing.” Read more →