Bob Collins
In a lot of Minnesota — northern Minnesota, primarily — it’s a lot easier to find a gun store than it is to find knowledge, or so the Washington Post characterizes the situation.
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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.
I’m pretty sure there’s such a thing as climate change and I’m pretty sure humans are responsible for it. I also think it’s too late to do anything about it even if we were a country capable of discussing the question in a reasonably intellectual way. Read more →
During Monday night’s tornado scare in Nebraska and Iowa, the Weather Channel TV meteorologists told people in the Sioux City, Iowa, area to evacuate. It’s not a call that’s the TV channel’s to make. Read more →
A story circulating thanks to a post on a Washington state hospice’s Facebook page is so sweet that one wonders why they waited three months to tell it. No matter. We’re not so overwhelmed with these sorts of tales that we can turn up our nose at three-month-old stories. Read more →
Every now and again, we need a little reminder about what a diverse and breathlessly beautiful country the United States can be. Even its ugly parts are weirdly enthralling. Today’s reminder comes from photographer Dave Hirschman, who occasionally ferries airplanes for a living. This week, he flew an Aircam, owned by Twin Cities businessman Walt Read more →
Last week, as I wrote in this space, the Pew Center revealed that the polarization of America is affecting where we physically reside. In our increasingly tribal ways, we’re segregating ourselves by our political philosophy. It’s no secret, of course, that if you live in Minneapolis, you’re more likely to be a Democrat than if Read more →
We know how tempting it can be to believe your car can get through a little standing water so we’re giving a woman on I-90 near the South Dakota border the benefit of the doubt. Read more →
It’s hard to wrap our head around the destruction a tornado can cause. There’s not much left of Pilger, Nebraska, where the twin tornadoes struck yesterday. Read more →
Minneapolis is the 12th most “walkable” city in the nation, a report released today shows. It’s one of the few national surveys in which the city finishes behind Cleveland (10). Read more →
If there’s one thing many Baby Boomers have in common, it’s this: Trying to convince an elderly parent that it’s time to leave the home they’ve spent their life in, and move somewhere that’s not so dangerous for an elderly person.
For many, especially those who’ve already reluctantly given up the car keys at a son or daughter’s insistence, it’s the last piece of independence — and dignity, really.
Is it worth forcing the move, capping a lifetime with a few years of unhappiness. Or does a son/daughter just shrug and say, ‘whatever makes you happy at whatever the cost?’
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Things were hopping at the Dubh Linn Irish Brew Pub in Duluth yesterday when the U.S. beat Ghana in yesterday’s World Cup match. Check the picture. One woman. This video from Lonny Goldsmith at Brit’s Pub in downtown Minneapolis also suggests a testosterone-heavy clientele. More women seemed represented in Kansas City. But mostly guys. Chicago. Read more →
Last evening, the new Green Line recorded its first car-train accident since service officially opened over the weekend. That didn’t take long.
Both train and car were traveling toward Minneapolis on University at Hampden when the car — of course — made an illegal left turn into the path of the train. It was the fifth accident since Green Line testing started in February and in every case the car’s driver did something wrong.
Usually it involves ignoring traffic signs or traffic signals.
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Twin tornadoes are raking the farm fields of Nebraska. This is the live coverage being provided to the Weather Channel. Storm chasing is an obviously dangerous hobby, best left to the experts. Even so, it’s something I’ve always wanted to try, even though it has very little informational value. A decent Doppler radar and a Read more →
The U.S. has a lousy health care system, a new survey says. But don’t rush to blame it on the Affordable Care Act. We’ve had a lousy health care system for 10 years. The survey data for the year was taken before ACA went into effect, but experts say the ACA alone won’t make much Read more →
A few months ago, I tweeted that nothing can make you feel older than when your childhood baseball heroes die. I was wrong. Nothing can make you feel older than when your adult baseball heroes die. Tony Gwynn, the greatest hitter of his generation, died today. He was 54. When he was elected to the Read more →