Big-game hunting is a good thing, the Star Tribune editorial board concludes today, saying that fact is the story that’s not getting any attention in the outrage over Walter Palmer’s alleged slaughter of a lion in Zimbabwe.
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MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
By Bob Collins
bcollins@mpr.org • @newscutBob 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.
It was torture last night watching Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores crying on the field after learning he was being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for former Twin Carlos Gomez. But is it an example of social media running with false rumors?
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Walter Palmer, the dentist who shot a lion in Zimbabwe, igniting a worldwide firestorm, has penned a letter to his practice’s patients. Read more →
They’re coming for your carports, Burnsville! Read more →
Jimmy Kimmel is no fan of Walter Palmer. Read more →
There are several elements to the story worthy of discussion: Can the future of the lake and the present of the lake co-exist anymore? What other business deserves a state bailout?
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NPR’s Linda Holmes, who writes the Monkey See blog on popular culture, has found her way — sort of — into the percolating podcast v. radio debate with her latest post about a TV show. Read more →

The NTSB cited the lack of guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration on how pilots should fly formation flights with skydivers. Consequently, the NTSB said, the owner of the skydiving company ‘did not provide its pilots skydiving formation flight training, and it did not keep records of pilot training nor was it required to do so by the FAA.’ Read more →
For many bicylists, this is rather a typical day in the life Read more →
The unwritten rule of catching a baseball at a game is this: Give it to a kid. Period. End of discussion. Read more →
Cecil the lion was a pretty big deal in Zimbabwe. The 13-year-old lion was a major tourist attraction at Zimbabwe’s famous Hwange National Park, according to the BBC.
The lion was shot with a crossbow and — after hours of suffering — a rifle, before being beheaded and skinned.
The killer had bribed wildlife guards.
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In his final days as host of the Daily Show, Jon Stewart’s reputation as the Walter Cronkite of a younger generation is getting new review.
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Jessica Cox, 32, was born without arms as a result of a rare birth defect. She’s earned a college degree, two martial arts black belts, drives a car and, flies an airplane anyway. Read more →
‘I found my place on the team and in the city very quickly. When you’re happy with your career and your environment, but most importantly, with yourself — when you’re your authentic self every single day, without shame — life sort of falls into place,’ she writes. And it did for her, she says, when she met the woman who recently became her wife. Read more →
The Minnesota Court of Appeals is running out of ways to say it: It’s not unconstitutional to impose a criminal penalty on someone who refuses to take a breath test when stopped for suspicion of drunk driving.
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