Bob Collins
Minnesota is a local music state, dude. We reject your uncool mapping. Read more →
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.
A Nevada couple found $10 million worth of gold coins buried in their backyard. It’s the biggest haul of gold coins ever. Read more →
Frontline ‘kneecaps’ the Vatican, it’s clear-your-mailbox season but what if you can’t, Delta scraps the old frequent flier program, where are the women in media, and recovering from the Arrowhead 135. Read more →
A reminder that when it comes to cancer, insurance companies still call the shots. Read more →
There’s an effort to get opening day named a national holiday. Read more →
There’s a new argument for more mass transit — an easing of racial tension.
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Can a kid in Minnesota be a part-time hockey player, the medical marijuana issue at the Capitol, why is nobody answering at 911, the end of free TV, and the singing TV traffic guy. Read more →
Montreal gets a lot of snow and knows how to remove it efficiently from the streets. Can we learn something? Read more →
In Dallas, the pols proposed a new rule. If you speak at a city council meeting, you can’t speak again — on any issue — for another 30 days.
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The Minnesota Court of Appeals has given a boost to cities who want to keep neighborhoods from being taken over by college students.
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Is plowing really worse now, the need for another miracle on ice, snowy owls and the selfish photographer, jumping through hoops for jobs, and thekilling of the Wisconsin labor union. Read more →
Nothing against you personally, Warroad, but you’re not the only city in Minnesota with a little hometown pride when it comes to athletes in competition. You just get all the attention. In the tiny city of Hendricks yesterday, population about 700, about 80 people turned out at The Local, a restaurant in town, to watch Read more →
“It’s not unsporting for athletes to cry when they come up short. But it is unsporting to chastise them for it.”
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Yes, it’s hockey. But at least Canada is united on something. What about the U.S.? Read more →
What’s public radio fundraising come to? Read more →