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.
The statistics show that people with a mental illness are far more likely to be the victims, rather than the perpetrators, of violence. And yet, here were again this week shining the spotlight on what role mental illness might have played in a crime.
But does the latest Fort Hood shooting paint an unfair picture of the link. NPR’s Shots blog thinks so. Read more →
The kid gets the ball. That’s the unwritten code at the nation’s ballparks for foul balls or gifts from the players. Read more →
If life were fair, there’d be more Hollywood endings.
Remember the Grommesh family of Moorhead? They were the recipients of a new home and tons of goodwill in their community when their story — Garrett, 13, has spina bifida — made it to ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover in 2010. Read more →
It leaked out today that David Letterman is retiring.
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A professional baseball player for the New York Mets — insert obvious New York Mets joke here — missed opening day this week because his wife had a baby.
Honk if you don’t see what’s coming next. Hint: It involves only men and sports talk radio. Read more →
Today’s story in the Washington Post about the fading tradition of a concession phone call after a tough-fought campaign reveals the central problem with politics: Decency is a sign of weakness. Read more →
A Winnipeg couple will not be able to see their Pee Wee hockey-playing son on the ice again for three years because of a fight the couple had with coaches at a tournament in West Fargo. Read more →
This week, NPR proved what has long been suspected: People are more than willing to engage in a discussion about a story without actually knowing anything about what the details are in the story. On Tuesday, NPR posted this story on its Facebook page. And 34,309 people “liked” it. Hundreds commented as the discussion about Read more →
If you do nothing else today, make a run to the NPR website that’s been set up in support of the network’s Morning Edition series from the U.S.-Mexico border. Read more →
Maybe there no longer is such a thing as spontaneity in the world. Maybe every documented bit of kindness, every cute scene, every bit of wonderful whimsy is nothing but the detritus of Mad Men.
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The Pioneer Press has details today of a study involving some Minnesotans that showed participants recruited from the Twin Cities Marathon had more coronary plaque than sedentary people who were studied. Read more →
Last week at a Perkins in Little Falls,Tori Dobis, 19, served French toast and a side of sausage to Kelly Blom. Total bill: $14. Tip: $200. Read more →
I really don’t have a comment other than to reinforce that you need to drink lots of green tea during this snowstorm.
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If you’re one of the many local marathoners heading to Boston later this month, you’re probably going to come back with a scarf around your neck. Read more →
Today’s ‘gets you right in the feels entry’ comes from Glendale, Ca., where a group surprised 50 homeless people at a shelter with a better meal. Read more →
Bob Collins