Bob Collins
Don’t you just hate when this happens? You’re paddling along, enjoying a scenic trip on one of Wisconsin’s lakes when you find a leg sticking out of a beaver dam. 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.
Katie Schoener is going to be remembered and buried today in Scranton, Pa., and her family isn’t shy about the circumstances. Read more →
As expected, NPR ombudsman Elizabeth Jensen heard plenty of reaction from NPR listeners about Steve Inskeep’s interview with white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Read more →
It can’t be much fun if you’re a Delta traveler today. All of Delta’s flights were grounded because of computer woes. Even when the systems are restored, the effect will ripple throughout the system for hours, if not days. That’s what happens when the airline industry consolidates. Read more →
There aren’t that many moments when you hear someone interviewed on the radio, and you feel a tear forming from the pride of it all. Read more →
Can an exhibit at a museum be considered iconic? Perhaps it depends on how many kids grew up crawling over, under, and around it.
Using that definition of questionable science, three exhibits at Minnesota’s Children’s Museum, qualify as iconic. Read more →
The letter, from Cheryl Chatman, the dean of diversity at the university, invited students to an orientation session, making it clear that students of color were required to attend. Read more →
Is this a stand for free speech or a chance to get some free advertising? Either motivation behind a lawsuit by a carpet cleaning franchise in Minnesota against the U.S. Olympic Organizing Committee would be the American way.
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David Duke probably isn’t going to win a Senate seat in Louisiana. There are too many people running for the gig and the Republican Party has already said it won’t support him.
So what makes David Duke worthy of NPR airtime for a race among other candidates whom NPR probably won’t invite on Morning Edition? Read more →
Andrew Gryskiewicz apparently isn’t like most people.
He’s the pizza delivery guy who was shot during a robbery two weeks ago. The bullet went through his heart. Read more →
The good news is that Quinton C. Hesse, 21, wasn’t texting and driving when he hit a police car in Hudson, Wis., as originally thought in March. Read more →
This morning, CNN reports, the latest poll shows Hillary Clinton with a 15-percent edge over Trump in popular opinion, a testament to the true evil that threatens the country: us.
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Every now and again we are reminded of the incredible capability and creativity of the human mind when faced with a problem to solve.
In Philadelphia, it’s been hot. So a group of neighbors rented a dumpster, cleaned it up, put some tarps inside, and turned on the fire hydrant.
And they got this. Read more →
It can be hard being a cop trying to do the right thing, but perhaps it’s time to stop with the pulling-motorists-over-to-give-them-presents thing. Read more →
Our long drought of creepy clown sightings has finally been broken and for this we thank you, Wisconsin. Read more →