Bob CollinsThe cost of increased airline safety is hitting a small city in Minnesota. On Saturday Great Lakes Airlines dropped service to Thief River Falls; Devils Lake and Jamestown, N.D.; Fort Dodge and Mason City, Iowa; and Ironwood, Mich. It also effectively shuttered its “hub” in Minneapolis. The suspension of air service highlights a problem for 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.
The people being left behind, in praise of the plow driver, the scourge of value pricing at sporting events, the women of Williston, and the last mail call for John Latimer. Read more →
You made it through January, Minnesota. The month that tried to kill us also deprived us of a certain seasonal reality: Winter is a great time in the state that knows how to live through it. Just not this winter. Read more →
From the day we moved here in 1992, I never developed the hatred of the Metrodome that a lot of area sports fans did. So you’ll have to forgive me if I find that some of the pictures showing up on Twitter today some with a heaping helping of melancholy. Read more →
Would a required ultrasound reduce the number of abortions?
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There are happy endings and sad ones and today there’s an example of both in the category of first responders and health care professionals. Read more →
Should the skyways of Nicollet Mall be destroyed, what does it take to cancel school around here (and elsewhere), the commercial drone war has already started, Rod Carew’s mission, and the growing legend of Derrick Coleman. Read more →
Seattle’s taking the Seahawks’ “12th man” rallying cry pretty seriously leading up to the Super Bowl. Read more →
Six years ago, Jonny Benjamin climbed to the edge of the Waterloo Bridge in London intending to jump to his death. But a stranger told him it would be OK, and offered to buy him a cup of coffee if he’d climb down from the railings. He climbed down and lived to tell his story. Read more →
While the rest of us approached a comparatively short journey to work today as if it was an Antarctic expedition, Ben Saunders and Tarka L’Herpiniere continued their walk that’s roughly the equivalent of a walk from Paris to Moscow without much fuss today. They’re in Antarctica. The two are honoring the 1912 race to the Read more →
The reappearance of Dunkin’ Donuts in Minnesota is no longer theoretical. Read more →
Hey Twin Cities, you made fun of Atlanta’s 2 inch snowpocalypse, didn’t you. You’re not laughing today. Read more →
Where now in the archdiocese scandal, a school throws food away intended for hungry children, the return of a Purple Heart, fracking fights back, and the Minnesota that keeps going in the cold and snow. Read more →
Despite my best attempts with butterfly gardens and milkweed, the grand total number of Monarch butterflies I saw last summer: 1. It was quite a moment. That’s not terribly surprising since conservation experts warned us that the number of Monarchs at their Mexico winter home was quite low. It’s even worse now. This year, the Read more →
Spend any time watching the Georgia Department of Transportation traffic cameras today and the cold weather of Minnesota never looked better. Consider, for example, this situation this afternoon on Interstate-285 in Atlanta. If you’re expecting anything from Georgia by truck, it’s probably going to be delayed. How can an area mess up an ice storm Read more →