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NewsCut

MPR News Reflections and observations on the news

By Bob Collins

Bob Collins
bcollins@mpr.org • @newscut

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.

Crime and Justice

Wisconsin, where a sexy vehicle is a Dodge Caravan

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 18, 2014, 10:44 AM Nov 18, 2014
20

Minnesotans spend an inordinate amount of time looking for new ways to belittle our neighbors to the east.

Vox today provides all the jokes you’ll ever need with this map of the most-stolen cars by state. Read more →

Crime and Justice

Poll: ‘To protect and to serve’… white people

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 18, 2014, 9:04 AM Nov 18, 2014
18

Gallup has released a poll today that isn’t surprising at all. Non-whites are less likely to believe that police will protect them from violent crime than whites are. Read more →

Crime and Justice · Sports

NFL finds its spine

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 18, 2014, 7:55 AM Nov 18, 2014
19

As the Minnesota Vikings season headed for the rocks, it seemed a lot of the attitude toward Adrian Peterson shifted too.
Read more →

Sports

All they are asking is give slacklining a chance

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 18, 2014, 7:38 AM Nov 18, 2014
4

Some students at the University of Minnesota are taking a stand for slacklines. Read more →

Health · People doing good

When ‘ordinary people’ step up to help

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 18, 2014, 6:55 AM Nov 18, 2014
1

If Tim Stahl, of Greenfield, Minn., hadn’t stepped forward to put his money where his heart is, dozens of others would have. Read more →

Health · People doing good

When cancer is ‘a love story’

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 17, 2014, 4:13 PM Nov 17, 2014
4

It is often hard for mere mortals to fathom the grace that can surround dying. Read more →

Sports

Report: NFL, players’ wives try to silence abused women

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 17, 2014, 1:33 PM Nov 17, 2014
1

Two former football wives in the NFL are offering a dark picture of life inside the NFL when it comes to domestic abuse. Read more →

People doing good

After football, a leap of faith to a life with purpose

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 17, 2014, 11:06 AM Nov 17, 2014
4

Not surprisingly, Steve Hartmann provided another dose of decency over the weekend with his On the Road profile of former NFL player Jason Brown, who walked away from the game (after he was released by the St. Louis Rams) to become a farmer and feed hungry people, even though he didn’t know anything about farming. Read more →

Health · War

Scars of service are inflicted on military families

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 17, 2014, 8:50 AM Nov 17, 2014
0

The St. Cloud Times profiles Debbie Larsen today as part of its series, ‘Scars of Service.’ After three family members took their own lives, she’s become a passionate advocate for suicide awareness and prevention.
Read more →

Health

John Kriesel thinks fighting Ebola is ‘dumb’

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 17, 2014, 7:26 AM Nov 17, 2014
40

Former state rep John Kriesel isn’t a fan of using the Minnesota National Guard to fight the Ebola epidemic. Read more →

Arts & Culture

NPR tweaks the timing on Morning Edition, ATC

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 17, 2014, 6:36 AM Nov 17, 2014
21

The clocks changed this morning because people listen to radio differently now. NPR’s national newscasts are more frequent now Read more →

Politics

Show me your property taxes

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 15, 2014, 4:58 PM Nov 15, 2014
28

Every year around this time the NewsCut tradition calls for a sharing of our proposed taxes for the new year, the notices for which should be arriving soon if it hasn’t already.

Let me know in the comments section what the tax hit is for you in 2015 and indicate the location.
Read more →

Arts & Culture · Science

Scientist shows how to make an apology

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 15, 2014, 9:33 AM Nov 15, 2014
6

Matt Taylor made the mistake of wearing a shirt showing women in bondage when he took part in a briefing on the Rosetta mission, which this week landed a spacecraft on a comet.
Read more →

Economy

No job? No problem, survey says

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 14, 2014, 3:14 PM Nov 14, 2014
6

Forty percent of the young people in America ages 16 to 24 don’t have a job, according to data from Pew Research released today.
That’s certainly an eye-opening statistic. Here’s the befuddling one, at least to those of us who drag ourselves out of bed and out the door on a near daily basis: Many of them don’t want jobs. Read more →

Arts & Culture · Health

Serenade for a dying son

Bob CollinsBob Collins November 13, 2014, 3:01 PM Nov 13, 2014
3

Here’s your daily dose of sweetness and heartbreak.

It’s Chris Picco of Loma Linda, Calif., playing music for his dying son.
Read more →

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