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NewsCut

MPR News Reflections and observations on the news

By Bob Collins

Bob Collins
bcollins@mpr.org • @newscut

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.

Sports

Tommy John tries to discourage Tommy John surgeries

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 12, 2018, 9:09 AM Jun 12, 2018
11

If there’s one statistic that reveals the extent to which parents and some coaches are out of control when it comes to pushing their kids to a big payday in professional baseball it’s this one: more than half of all “Tommy John” surgeries in the United States are performed on kids between 15 and 19.
Read more →

This or That

Bad dog! Whiskey makes a break for it

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 12, 2018, 8:22 AM Jun 12, 2018
8

We are of the opinion that Whiskey would’ve gone back inside a Spring Lake Park home the minute Whiskey wanted to, but props to the Spring Lake – Blaine – Mounds View Fire Department anyway. Read more →

This or That

Wis. city mandates drivers back into parking spaces

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 12, 2018, 7:01 AM Jun 12, 2018
35

The people of Altoona, Wis., near Eau Claire, have about had it with the challenge of parking in the city. Read more →

What’s on MPR News? 6/12/18

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 12, 2018, 6:00 AM Jun 12, 2018
0

Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear on MPR News. Read more →

Sports

Pitcher strikes out his friend, delays championship celebration for a hug

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 11, 2018, 3:14 PM Jun 11, 2018
2

It was a heck of a moment for the kids of Mounds View who defeated Totino-Grace in the Class 4A, Section 5 final last week when Mounds View pitcher Ty Koehn struck out Totino-Grace’s Jack Kocon to end the game, preserving a 17-to-10 win. Read more →

Politics

A case for a Canadian invasion

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 11, 2018, 2:10 PM Jun 11, 2018
51

It takes a lot to make Canada mad, but former diplomat Scott Gilmore has pretty much had it. Read more →

This or That

Can the gap between journalism and people be bridged?

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 11, 2018, 1:22 PM Jun 11, 2018
35

Color me skeptical about the latest poll purporting to show that journalists aren’t doing a good enough job of explaining how journalism works. Read more →

Arts & Culture · Education

After mass shooting, a drama teacher shows why the arts matter

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 11, 2018, 10:00 AM Jun 11, 2018
3

The intersection of arts, culture, and mass murder is nearly impossible to comprehend, but we’re getting there, sadly. Read more →

Politics

Get to know the 17th Amendment

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 11, 2018, 9:32 AM Jun 11, 2018
12

Although, obviously, there are local elections, elections are national things and should it be tougher for an American to vote in one state rather than another? Why not just have one set of rules for 50 states and the territories? Read more →

This or That

Timewasters: Your corgi is dumb

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 11, 2018, 9:30 AM Jun 11, 2018
14

We are choosing to take some comfort in the knowledge that no matter what fresh hell awaits us in the news this week, we are still a people who will gather in the pouring rain, to watch a dog chase sheep from one end of the field to another, dispelling the notion that we return to work today to work like a dog. Read more →

This or That

Death of a Minnesota airport

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 11, 2018, 8:06 AM Jun 11, 2018
14

A lot of local airports get FAA funding — which also makes it harder for communities to close their airports — but Silver Bay didn’t have enough pilots and planes left to earn the money.
Read more →

This or That

It’s a triumph of mind over bog near Brainerd

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 11, 2018, 7:01 AM Jun 11, 2018
4

Timing is everything in the world, so news that volunteers have proven humans are smarter than giant bogs comes with a measure of restrained celebration. Read more →

What’s on MPR News? 6/11/18

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 11, 2018, 5:45 AM Jun 11, 2018
10

Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →

Sports

The rain, a baseball, and a kid with his dad

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 10, 2018, 8:03 AM Jun 10, 2018
8

During the downpour on Saturday, probably three hours into what turned out to be a four-hour rain delay, nobody was in the entire upper deck of the outfield seating at Target Field in Minneapolis except a father and his little boy (7 or 8 years old, I’d guess), who were under the scoreboard overhang. The boy was patiently waiting, his baseball glove still on his hand. Read more →

This or That

Surviving foster care

Bob CollinsBob Collins June 9, 2018, 7:46 AM Jun 9, 2018
0

Some kids can survive the roadblocks that we put in their way; some kids can’t.

This is a difficult video to watch but the invitation is clearly there for us to consider this question: Why are we putting the roadblocks in their way?
Read more →

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