Bob Collins
Molly Park’s family was in a terrible position when they wrote words to live by for the rest of us. They had to write the Maine 24-year-old’s obituary and decide just how honest they had to be about her life. She was addicted to heroin. 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.
Apparently, prosecutors believe that whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man who murdered people at the Boston Marathon in 2013, should live or die hinges somewhat on a photograph. Read more →
Alice Barker was a chorus line dancer during the Harlem Renaissance of the the 1930s and 40s. She danced at clubs such as The Apollo, Cotton Club, and Zanzibar Club, with legends including Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, and Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson. Until recently, she’d never seen video of herself dancing. She’s 102 now. Read more →
A Star Tribune letter writer today wondered how it is a young man suspected of running off to join the Islamic State was able to withdraw $5,000 on a debit card for financial aid at his college. Read more →
The great Spotted Cow threat is over now that authorities have put a quick stop to a Maple Grove bar’s bootlegging operation. Spotted Cow beer is supposed to only be sold in Wisconsin. Read more →
‘We’re a civilized community living in 2015,’ Megan Bartholomay, a 38-year-old Fargo resident, says. But she says a plan to prevent beavers from cutting down trees in the city is ‘barbaric.’
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Michael Joseph Mooney of Duluth, the man killed in last week’s bus crash in the city, was a hero, officials are now saying.
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Reports of the demise of college were premature.
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There are still a few weeks left in the Minnesota legislative session, but there’s a frontrunner in the gaffe-of-the-year competition who may be difficult to beat. Read more →
The city’s most controversial billboard, which currently says nothing and hasn’t for quite some time, is coming down, Fred Melo at the Pioneer Press reports.
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NPR broaches the next step in privatization: turning the entire air traffic control system over to a private company to run. Read more →
A train in Japan has set a new record for speed. The maglev train broke the record it set just last week when it reached 603 kilometers per hour, or about 375 miles per hour. Read more →
Maickel Melamed, 39, finished the Marathon this morning a little before the sun came up. Keep in mind it started at noon yesterday.
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AdWeek says the campaign is worth the gamble because nothing else has made South Dakota attractive. Read more →
Minnesota classical music fans, you cough too much. Just ask Hilary Hahn, the one-time child prodigy who’d had it with your hacks at a concert at the Ordway last week. Read more →