Bob Collins
A Minnesota native has pretty well killed the ‘niceness’ image that locals may have had in the nation’s capital. 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.
A few weeks ago, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach Lavine provided the first indication of dissension in the ranks of the team, which has struggled for credibility for years.
The criticism is shared by at least half the team, the Associated Press reports. Read more →
Today would be a good day to tell politicians that it’s OK to listen to what people are telling them. Read more →
Being a cop or a firefighter tends to run in a family, which is why an anti-nepotism policy proposal in La Crosse, Wis., is under fire. Read more →
Bill Eddins, music director of the Edmonton Symphony and former associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, has shut down his classical music blog, convinced that nothing is going to change in the world of classical music. Read more →
Liam Hollidge, a member of the Minnehaha Academy’s C-squad basketball team, is clearly destined for greatness even if it’s not likely to be as a basketball player. Read more →
Only about four of your Facebook friends actually care about you, a study from the UK says today.
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Every other year or so a survey reveals that most Americans have never read the U.S. Constitution, and every few days someone claiming a constitutional right proves the surveys correct. Read more →
Amherst College, the ultra-liberal school in Massachusetts, has decided to drop its unofficial mascot because it honors the commander of British forces in North America who advocated wiping out Native Americans by giving them blankets laced with smallpox. Read more →
The country is full of people who don’t stand for anything. Concepcion Picciotto, is not one of them.
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‘Edina would be a nicer place if we could all talk to each other and not be awkward for not knowing each other,’ Stanley Wu, a 16 year old, wrote in his letter to Mayor James Hovland.
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Can Wisconsin employers be a little more supportive of employees who are willing to give a little piece of themselves to save someone else’s life?
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The U.S. has been at war so long you’d think people would ‘get’ the whole ‘support our troops’ thing by now.
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We suspect there is no greater challenge of ‘toughness’ in Minnesota than the race that’s underway in northern Minnesota at this hour.
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Shaquille O’Neal has a heart as big as he is. Read more →