Bob Collins
All across Minnesota, rural grocery stores are holding out against the choices people make. 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.
Only in the presidential campaign of 2016 would we we be analyzing the handwriting of Pete Rose to fact-check a candidate’s claim. Read more →
If the Rev. Amy Kosari didn’t know somebody who knew somebody, a woman with limited English ability who was shot twice in the chest recently might still be isolated on the Mayo Clinic-St. Mary’s campus. Read more →
Around Grand Forks, Marilyn Hagerty’s sister, Shirley, was almost as famous as the Grand Forks Herald’s writer herself. Read more →
Meanness is in in America these days. And, slowly, so is the utter lack of sportsmanship by fans at high school basketball games. Read more →
Yesterday wasn’t the first time that ‘Hamilton’ star Lin-Manuel Miranda rapped at the White House. He appeared there six years ago for a performance.
But yesterday was the first time the president of the United States was his sidekick in a freestyle rap in the Rose Garden. Read more →
It’s not unusual on a warm day to see kids set up a lemonade stand to make a couple of bucks. But these Minneapolis kids wanted to buy a house, or more specifically help a neighbor keep hers.
Read more →
A year ago, when Willmar, Minn., was sending layoff notices to all non-tenured teachers, I asked those in the profession, ‘why do you bother?’
It’s a good time to ask the same question because this afternoon, the school board is likely to do the same thing. Read more →
Shelley Bramhoff Sikorski didn’t have a lot of time to get a picture to go viral before Facebook removed it. It was a Valentine’s card her gay son received at the Edmonton party goods store where he worked. A new manager took over recently and his hours, were cut. Read more →
It’s not a Pi Day (3.14) without a video from mathematician Vi Hart, who just hates Pi Day. Read more →
The state Senate this week will take up a bill that would strip communities of the right to ban the bags, after the state Assembly easily approved the bill. Read more →
One has to marvel at the ski industry’s ability to adapt to a warming region.
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For the second time in a month, NPR is distancing itself from some of the pioneer reporters who built the news organization.
NPR clarified that Cokie Roberts, who wrote an anti-Trump newspaper column, is not a full-time employee of the network and hasn’t been for a long time. She’s a commentator. Read more →
Nothing can kill church like its own history and relativity. Read more →
Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has tried a few times to unload the team he saved from moving to New Orleans once, and the latest attempt appears to be fizzling. Read more →