Bob CollinsThis is the second year Roger Hanson has tried to build an ice tower in Superior. Last year’s initial effort failed colossally. 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.
Of course, you didn’t used to need a passport to return from Canada. But since 2001, the country has been more vigilant against the threat posed by 90-year-old Iowa natives. Read more →
A Pine County farmer’s plight shows the value of reading the fine print when signing up for health insurance under Minnesota’s version of Medicaid, known as Medical Assistance.
Scott Killerud, of Willow River, signed up for health insurance through MNsure, and found out his income qualified him for Medical Assistance, the Duluth News Tribune reports.
They’ve found out since then that the state has placed liens on their estate to pay for it.
Read more →
Days after a man killed one of his officers, the chief of the Fargo Police Department is asking the public to help the gunman’s family. Read more →
His body wasn’t cold yet before the partisans began their daily battle. Scalia did not enjoy the luxury of remembrance for something other than his job, although Ruth Bader Ginsberg gave it a collegial try. The two were best friends, she said, her decency obvious.
The rest of America? Not so much. Read more →
We submit that the nature of love is measured best with age.
Here are a couple of stories to support the notion. Read more →
A P-51C Mustang fighter with a rich Minnesota history, is heading for its third major repair/restoration after its pilot didn’t or couldn’t lower the landing gear during a flight at its new home in Dallas. Read more →
The lost boys escaped the war between north and south region of Sudan. The north was primarily Muslim, the south Christian. Most of the boys were orphaned by the killings. About 90 percent of the boys have become American citizens since arriving in the county, the paper says, and more than 60 have graduated from college. Read more →
In Virginia, a school showed its students a four-minute video called ‘Structural Discrimination: The Unequal Opportunity Race’ last week during a schoolwide assembly. The parental backlash was intense. Read more →
One wonders if the astronauts considered that at some point in the future, we would be sitting on our couches with a computer on our laps many times more powerful than their entire spacecraft’s technology, reading their scribbles.
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Like salmon returning to their spawning ground, lovers of trivia are returning to St. Cloud this weekend for the annual trivia weekend on KVSC, the St. Cloud State University radio station. Read more →
A high school coach’s generosity in a cross-country ski race cost his team a chance to compete for the state championship. Read more →
We don’t know exactly what happened inside a Roseville apartment overnight where a man having a mental health crisis was shot to death after stabbing a police dog.
But based on the information provided so far, it’s worth discussing whether there’s a more effective way to respond to these situations. Read more →
Maybe Americans did learn a few things from the economic collapse of 2008. An interview with an executive of Fidelity suggests so, anyway. People are saving money. Maybe. Read more →
Sometimes, Cleveland can’t help being Cleveland. Read more →