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.
‘Sometimes I sit back and I have to escape from what I see and hear every day,’ Sandra Parks wrote a couple of years ago in an award-winning sixth-grade essay. ‘I put my headphones on and let the music take me away, move to the beat, and try to think about life and what everything means.’
She was shot and killed Monday night. Read more →
Why would someone stand on the sidelines dressed as a referee? Why would a team allow him to? Did it impact the game? And who’s suing whom, anyway. Ah, details!
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The family of Thomas Kingsley Lawrence certainly had a difficult mission in writing the obituary for their son, who took his own life.
They met the challenge head on, and produced one of the most courageous and honest obituaries we’ve seen. Read more →
In Frisco, Texas a wise music teacher — as if there’s any other kind — has found the perfect way to keep parents and her students on the same page: an orchestra of parents.
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Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →
The crew was dropping water on the so-called Woolsey Fire earlier this month when it got a call to rescue people trapped on a mountain top. Read more →
Let’s see: minimum wage, paid sick leave are on the clock. Here’s one more idea for a mandatory workplace ordinance: What if you had to take the vacation time you’ve got coming?
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If you’re going to win a write-in campaign, it helps to have a simple name because by law the first and last name must be spelled correctly. So it’s impressive that Dan Rechtzigel is the new City Council member in Kenyon. Read more →
A sweet moment after last weekend’s Minnesota Class A State Tournament semifinals was a sobbering reminder that the carnage caused by distracted drivers in Minnesota can be found just about anywhere these days. Read more →
For a little less than a week, Jason Gabbert was the most hated person in Minnesota sports, based on the Star Tribune’s report of how the Minnesota Twins have banned him for a year for his aggressiveness in chasing foul balls in the nice seats behind the dugout.
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Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →
Every now and then, the NCAA shows a little common sense in its insistence that college ‘student-athletes’ not be tainted by money.
Emily Scheck, is a cross-country runner at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. She’s also gay. Read more →
Wayne Porter’s gigantic horse, made out of old railroad tie plates, has successfully (and expensively, we figure) been moved from his blacksmith shop to his sculpture field along I-90 in Montrose, S.D. That’s a 130-mile trip.
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James Dobson, 32, set out to ride his recumbent bicycle from New Hampshire to San Diego on what he called his “Positive Vibes Tour.” His goal? Raise money to help kids with cancer.
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The period between Election Day and the day new lawmakers take office is some of the most dangerous times for democracy.
Wisconsin may prove that anew.
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Bob Collins