Bob Collins
An attempt to honor veterans is revealing an ongoing — and somewhat generational — split among veterans over the question of who can salute the flag. 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 little turn of the clock certainly has some people upset. Read more →
What a few parachutes and a lot of luck can do. When do you leave your family to go find work? The fake eclipse. Reconsidering your connected self. And when dad is there to help. Read more →
Here are 10 questions about news stories or NewsCut posts this week. How well did you pay attention? Read more →
Unless you run marathons, it’s pretty hard to “get” marathoners. I understand the need to run at whatever pace you need to run to survive 26 miles just to say you did it. But those who actually try to win the race appear superhuman. How superhuman? This Sunday is the New York City Marathon and Read more →
Betty Hornby and Frank Pachuki, my colleague Elizabeth Stawicki relays, were fixtures around Milwaukee. Wherever there was live music — Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair, Jazz in the Park, ethnic festivals — Betty and Frank were there doing their ballroom thing. Read more →
The worst teacher you ever had, can you afford to change jobs, are planes going to crash now that you can play with your smartphone, don we now our fun apparel, and a love letter to Chester Creek. Read more →
A baseball championship is just a baseball championship. Period. Everything else is just a sportswriter who needs a catchy lede. Read more →
Like many people, I’ve been following the stories of people who are losing their health insurance as insurance companies cancel policies because they don’t meet the standards of the new health care law. People insisted they “liked” their old policies. And maybe they did. But it’s time to demand we get a look at those Read more →
Andy Carvin has been offered a buyout from NPR, which is shedding 10 percent of its workforce. Read more →
Why you don’t have a choice whether to submit to drunk driving testing, the hungry people, a bumpy ride for Nice Ride’s supplier, Shave for the Cure in St. Cloud, and how Scandinavian are we really? Read more →
Blind fan Reggie Deal’s efforts to see baseball games in all 30 big league result in a telling video. Read more →
A “fat letter” to trick-or-treaters may be a joke, but the sentiment hits close to reality.
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The Redskins’ owner says the name represents “who we are.” That’s the problem. Read more →
Last of the small-town radio stations, claim: rate shock for health care is good, diversity and the Walker Art Center audience, when winter comes and you’re homeless, and the great Minnesota hunting ammunition shortage of 2013. Read more →