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.
When Stephen Sutton of the UK learned he had bowel cancer at 15, and learned he was terminal at 17, he used his Facebook page to chronicle all the things he wanted to do before he dies. He wanted to skydive. He did. He wanted to play drums in a band at Wembley Stadium. He did. He wanted to crowd surf. He did. He also wanted to raise more than $1.6 million for cancer research and he was far short of his goal when he posted his goodbye on Facebook this week. Read more →
Without fail, prom season each year brings out the absurd in school officials. Read more →
Today is the 100th birthday of Wrigley Field. Read more →
The Minnesota Supreme Court today warned district court judges to be more wary when statistics are used to civilly commit people who have served their sentences for sexual crimes. Read more →
One Day in the Twin Cities Read more →
Near the end of the Vietnam War, most states lowered the drinking age to 18 on the theory that if young men can be pulled off the street and sent to war via the draft, they should be able to buy a drink.
The war ended, the draft ended, and the federal government started threatening to withhold highway funding to any state that didn’t raise the drinking age back to 21. Read more →
When the Wisconsin Republican Party holds its annual convention in a few weeks, delegates will be asked to vote on a resolution supporting Wisconsin’s right to secede from the union. Read more →
Does the danger pass when burglars are no longer capable of standing up and harming you? Or does it end when they’re dead?
The case had all the makings of a nationwide debate on the right of people to defend themselves in their own homes. It was tailor-made for the demagoguery that accompanies shootings like this. But for the most part, that hasn’t happened. Read more →
It isn’t really spring until the Madeline Island ferry makes its first run to Bayfield, Wis.
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By now, you’ve probably heard of this moment in yesterday’s Boston Marathon when a runner collapsed a few hundred yards shy of the finish line. Wouldn’t you know it? There was a little Minnesota Nice (the good kind) going on there. The guy in the yellow is Mike Johnson, 47, from Stillwater. “I saw that Read more →
Sorry, Minneapolis. You’re not in the top 10 of funniest U.S. cities.
The good news: You’re not in the top 10 of least funny cities, either. Read more →
The moment that the bombs went off in Boston in 2013 — 4 hours, 9 minutes, 43 seconds
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What’s the Boston Marathon all about? It’s almost as if the winners don’t matter. It’s about telling your spouse you’re pregnant. Sarah Norcott will reveal to her husband Jim sex of their baby when he finishes http://t.co/m9MYFpj92D @bostonglobe pic.twitter.com/sk9DN2g8sR — David Filipov (@davidfilipov) April 21, 2014 It’s about twerking… Damn you @diplo #BostonMarathon pic.twitter.com/WhuyHVOSSo — Read more →
When Carlos Gomez thought he hit a home run, he violated baseball’s unwritten code. Read more →
Bob Collins