Bob CollinsTonight is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 orbit of the moon. No human had ever seen its dark side, and no human had ever seen an earthrise, as captured by the famous picture, which some credit with propelling the environmental movement. 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 family that produces a Christmas light show on their Chaska cul-de-sac, is threatening to pull the plug unless party buses stay away. Read more →
Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, said on Friday his party will press ahead for Brexit, Britain’s go-it-alone separation from the European Union, if there’s another referendum on exiting the Union. Read more →
I’m taking a pass on a Top 10 list this year because I’m not that crazy about 9 of the top 10, reflective, perhaps, of my inability to get out more this year, due to declining health and the difficulty of keeping the blog updated when I’m not in a position to do so. Like it or not, page views are the coin of the realm for people who need to justify their existence as bloggers. Read more →
Well here’s something you don’t see every day. A helicopter with no rotor blades. Read more →
Look, people, how many times do we need to say it? If you’re going to park your car and run into a store, crack the window so your pigs don’t suffocate. Read more →
Here are today’s stories, topics, and guests on MPR News. Read more →
Minnesota loves a chance to pat itself on the back and in the last few decades, the health ranking of states has given us every opportunity. In the ranking released earlier this month, Minnesota is in the top 10 again.
But there’s another side of the story: We’re slipping from our once lofty perch. Read more →
Cooper Dawson and Kingsley Feinman, have changed each other’s lives. Dawson is your basic jock. Feinman is your basic person with cerebral palsy. Read more →
Barack Obama, 57, has got a lot of time left in the role of former president so he decided to adopt a new role yesterday at a children’s hospital in Washington. Because what else is a former president going to do on a Wednesday? Read more →
In a courtroom yesterday, we got to see and hear what happens when two young lives are snuffed out by a a driver, and how the system of plea bargains allows people to skate on the punishment. Read more →
Looking back now, it should have been obvious that Claas Relotius was ginning up his stories for the German magazine Der Spiegel, stories for which he won award after award until he was fired on Wednesday.
Read more →
Here are today’s stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear on MPR News. Read more →
In western Michigan, the owner of a company that sells foam that’s used in floral arrangements, is giving his 200 employees $4 million in bonuses. Read more →