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 Boston Marathon is a fairly soft target for terrorists. Twenty-six miles of city streets can’t be locked down, especially with the carnival atmosphere that accompanies the event. “We are never going to reduce the risk to zero in any event, especially ones that attract hundreds of thousands of people, but we have to do Read more →
A Wisconsin woman with a brain tumor has written another chapter in the ongoing saga of the power of social media to punish horrible customer service. Read more →
Should the government pay you to be alive, Judging a person by their cover, the homeless patch of North Dakota, it takes a village to keep a 102-year-old-woman in her home, and why on earth do we live on this sport on earth? Read more →
In the last 24 hours, Minneapolis moved into position to claim the prize as America’s Best Bike City, and it didn’t have to lift a foot to do it.
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Golden Valley shows why mental health care for children is still a taboo subject in much of America.
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Three statistical stories today that will make you spit out your beer. Read more →
For a few days, St. Cloud is the center of the trivia universe. Read more →
A discovered WWII diary found in a Minnesota basement helps a Louisiana family recall a lost airman. Read more →
The disaster waiting to happen on Franklin Avenue happened, why aren’t there more fights at caucuses, Warroad’s olympians, can diversity be funny, and bright lights and big dreams for a 14 year old. Read more →
Even a week later we still wonder why on earth people would want to bike (or hike or ski) 135 miles across northern Minnesota in the dead of winter. Read more →
Is violence in north Minneapolis creating post-traumatic stress disorder? Read more →
Especially considering last week’s MPR story showing ‘structural racism’ as one reason for health disparities within Minnesota, this is a particular stunning map from Measure for America, the group that documents its ‘human development index.’ Read more →
Why the Nicollet Mall skyways should be saved, how MNsure’s ‘arrogance’ helped create the health care sign-up mess, the weather could be worse: it could be a surprise, the fallacy of retirement, and a professor apologizes for his ‘rape assignment.’ Read more →
What are the odds that a day after winning a Super Bowl, the Super Bowl trophy would arrive back in Minnesota? It happened today. The Delta charter for the Seattle Seahawks, on their way home after yesterday’s game, diverted to Minnesota reportedly because of the need for a change of pilots and crew under FAA Read more →
But Lake Elmo didn’t want to be like everyone else and today it finally won a battle against the Metropolitan Council’s order that it needs to get bigger. Or did it win? Read more →
Bob Collins