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.
It’s all been good for Bo Paske, the Florida kid who became a star when a Florida State football player noticed him sitting alone in the school cafeteria. His mother reported on Facebook that Bo, who is autistic, doesn’t seem to have any friends who sit with him at lunch. Read more →
In last week’s NewsCut post — and yesterday’s radio show — on the best jobs,the worst jobs, and the jobs we learned the most from, one theme came through: Be nicer to people at work, particularly in the service sector. Empathy is in, people. Rudeness is out. Read more →
John Ydstie’s story on All Things Considered last night about the stagnant worker productivity was distressing in so many ways, not the least of which is the subtle suggestion that we’re somehow goofing off at work. Read more →
Oh, Minnesota. What has happened to you?
The era of outdoor hockey may be ebbing, if a report from KSTP has a ring of truth. It may be the canary in a coal mine of sports. Read more →
This being Labor Day and all, might we suggest taking a half hour to acknowledge why we have labor laws protecting workers in the United States. Read more →
An Olympian’s gold medal was stolen and Joe Jacobi thought it was gone forever. There are a lot of creeps in the world.
Fortunately, there are little girls and families of character.
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For too many parents, never. Read more →
It’s been obvious since the moment Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem last week that the protest would spread.
Yesterday, it did when soccer star Megan Rapinoe knelt during the National Anthem before last evening’s National Women’s Soccer League match between the Chicago Red Stars and the Seattle Reign, for whom Rapinoe plays. Read more →
A good obit makes you sad you missed out on meeting a person. Here’s an example.
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Like many Minnesotans, I did something last night I rarely do. I left the porch light on.
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I had such a good time last year with my Labor Day radio show on the best/worst job you ever had…
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We talk often in this category — The Art of the Obituary — about portraying and defining our lives outside of the jobs we hold. Nineteen year olds don’t have the big jobs that permeate many obituaries. And it didn’t matter a bit in relaying a life well lived. Not a bit. Read more →
With the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years came a return to the water for the nation’s TV reporters.
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This week’s StoryCorps segment on NPR’s Morning Edition was a perfect conclusion to the week during which an uplifting moment came when a grown-up sat down with a young boy.
Today’s segment described the uplifting result when a young boy sat down with grown-ups. Read more →
In Weare, New Hampshire (pop. 8,785), townspeople have posted plastic flamingos on their lawns as a symbol of their support and hope for a 12-year-old girl fighting leukemia.
The flamingos are being sold for $10 each to raise money for Abby Van Dyke’s expenses. Thirteen-hundred birds have been sold so far. Read more →
Bob Collins