Bob Collins
Conditioned as we are by a three-year presidential campaign season that has intended to destroy whatever is still united in the states, there’s a good reason why the rational among us took note of this picture this weekend. 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.
The question of calling out ‘lies’ was a big topic on NewsCut this week. Let’s consider another, less passion-filled example. Read more →
If you’re wondering whether this poor driver who somehow flipped over on I-494 near the airport this afternoon was OK, you probably weren’t a driver on I-494 near the airport this afternoon when this poor driver somehow flipped over.
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I tried to fly down to the area southeast of Mankato this afternoon to try to get a better look at the floods caused by this week’s rain. Unfortunately, there was a wall of water stretching for miles across the region, preventing me from getting through.
So, I flew along the Cannon River Valley from Cannon Falls to Red Wing and marveled — again — at the way rivers tend to go wherever they want to go, despite our best efforts. Read more →
The story of Wrenshall’s girls basketball team is not only the story of how a small number of kids showed up in the face of certain losses; it was a metaphor for rural Minnesota and rural America. The story might be nearing an end. Read more →
The chances are pretty good that when you stopped in for your coffee this morning, you didn’t get approached by federal agents. Read more →
When you go looking for America, where do you look? Read more →
‘All you need is love,’ John Lennon wrote in his song that people often gather and sing during particularly troubled times.
He was wrong. Read more →
This afternoon, Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek released a study showing half of the inmates at the Hennepin County jail would benefit from or are in need of mental health services. Read more →
The driver of a bus that got caught halfway across a highway in Cambridge has resigned after video of the incident was posted on Facebook. Read more →
The Minnesota Twins played a hastily-scheduled game at Target Field today thanks to a rainout last night. What’s with the shaming? Read more →
Is love really blossoming in the abundance suggested by Jumbotrons across America? Or is there just good money in it. Read more →
Dave and Amy Freeman tomorrow will hike and paddle out of the Boundary Waters wilderness, emerging into a world that tries its darndest to convince them they should turn around. Read more →
Hillary Clinton sat down with Zach Galifianakis on Between Two Ferns and we learned that if Donald Trump wins, she will not move to Canada, nor will she take up arms.
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That was a fascinating segment on NPR’s Morning Edition today when an NPR host, who works for an organization that steadfastly refuses to say that Donald Trump lies, quizzed the boss of the country’s most influential newspaper, who works for an organization that has no such qualms. Read more →