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.
Among the most compelling stories in the tell-all books about presidential campaigns that inevitably follow an election is the behind-the-scenes story of how vice presidential candidates are selected.
This year, we don’t have to wait. The New York Times has the story this afternoon of how Donald Trump settled on Mike Pence of Indiana. Read more →
Thomas Fairbanks argued that he didn’t actually cause Dewey’s death. He claims the decision of Dewey’s family did. Read more →
House Speaker Paul Ryan created a typical day in the life of social media the other day when he posted this ‘selfie’ with interns on Capitol Hill. Read more →
It’s been a long time since the roll call of states at any national political convention has been anything but good theater. Read more →
Pro tip: When playing Pokemon Go, don’t drive your car into a police cruiser. Read more →
One person’s noise is another person’s music and that fact has the politicians and police in Northfield a bit stuck on how residents and bar/restaurants can get along. Read more →
It’s National Lollipop Day, a piece of trivia that nobody cares about except the occasional TV anchor, a blogger or two, and the lollipop industry that’s probably behind making it National Lollipop Day for some free media advertising.
Who’s responsible for this ongoing daily nonsense? Read more →
It took nearly four years, but the National Transportation Safety Board has now closed its investigation into how four people on the way home from a Packers-Vikings game ended up upside down in an airplane in Rochester. Read more →
Every morning during a national political convention, the state delegations get a pep talk over breakfast.
For the Ohio delegation today, it came from Frank Luntz, the Republican strategist and TV talking head. Read more →
People of all ages, economic, and social spheres, and diverse backgrounds are ending up at the same places, interacting in whatever way Pokemon Go allows, helping each other along the way, and becoming friends.
What exactly is bad about that? Read more →
I was hoping for a video of epic Gerald Ford proportions when the BBC reported that Secretary of State John Kerry had walked into the door of 10 Downing Street today. Read more →
Two stories in the news today provide a foundation for more discussion on the state of mental health care in Minnesota. Read more →
Why are youth sports coaches getting so fed up with kids and parents and walking away from the job? Let Leon High School in Florida be your guide. Read more →
On a day of opportunity for head scratching yesterday, few itches were as pronounced at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland as Iowa Rep. Steve King’s ill-advised trip into history. Read more →
A Minnesota delegate shows off her American flag shawl, which breaks any number of guidelines in the U.S. Flag Code Read more →
Bob Collins