Bob Collins
It’s not often one of the gods — perhaps the god — of public radio has to answer the critics in public radio, but that’s the territory Ira Glass of This American Life has found himself in the last week or so.
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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.
Delta CEO Richard Anderson, a familiar face in these parts because of his tenure at Northwest Airlines, declared today that airline fees are here to stay because you want them.
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A Fargo second-hand store owner isn’t happy about those people next door. Read more →
Not answering questions can be a long-term land mine for a political candidate, but only if she’s not answering good questions. Read more →
In the world of pets, is ‘finders keepers’ an acceptable rule?
Courtney Amos, a Mayo High School senior in Rochester, doesn’t believe so but the people who found her cat of 11 years — Whiskers — disagree.
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You’re on the Amtrak train that careens off the tracks in Philadelphia. People are hurt. You don’t know the extent to the existing danger. What do you do?
If you’re former congressman Patrick Murphy, you pull out the smartphone and start tweeting. Read more →
Over the years, NewsCut has had pretty good luck reuniting the far-flung debris from a tornado with rightful owners.
Maybe we can pull it off again. Read more →
The New England Patriots said science proves they didn’t deflate footballs during the AFC Championship game. As it turns out, science comes close to proving they did. Read more →
The Pew Research Center issued a stunning new study on religion in America today showing most major organized Christian faiths in decline. And it’s not just among young people; the decline occurs across the age groups, according to Pew. Read more →
Sure, at first blush it looks like Northfield just took itself out of the running for most bicycle-friendly city in Minnesota. Nothing could be further from the truth, however. There’s lots of bike parking in the city, and even two repair stations. But it caused a bit of a stir anyway.
Still, this dismantling of the bike locked to a traffic signpost today presents a mystery to us. Read more →
Richard Murphy, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Texas, and Louis-Philippe Beland, assistant professor of economics at Louisiana State University, released research of their study of the impact of a mobile phone ban on student test scores Read more →
Minnesota Orchestra’s appearance in Cuba has gotten plenty of well-deserved attention. But another facet of the concert tour in the Communist nation is getting some attention today. How is it that a certain public radio outlet is able to broadcast from the closed country?
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Washington state tops the list with a 66.2 score. Minnesota is at 62.7 with some breathing room between it and Delaware (54.8). But upstarts are coming up on our left. Read more →
St. Louis Park is about to do something no other city in Minnesota has done. It’s considering banning plastic bags.
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It apparently will be quite a trial when a lawsuit against Madeline Island officials goes to court — if it ever does.
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