Bob Collins
An Eau Claire farmer planted sunflowers in memory of his wife, who died of cancer a year ago. Now the seeds he’s harvesting will help other cancer patients. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
People doing good
Bill Aldridge, 80, wasn’t homeless when he died a month ago. But he was alone. He had no family and nobody stepped forward to make any funeral arrangements. Read more →
You’re in a train station in Atlanta when your wife notices a young man struggling to tie a tie.
What do you do? Keep walking or stop to help? Read more →
Undeterred by the warnings from officials that attacks in the city may not be over, the people of Paris lined up to donate blood to victims of Friday’s terrorism. Read more →
A neighborhood holds a second Trick or Treat to honor a young man who missed the first one because he had a seizure. Read more →
Daniel Fleetwood, 32, of Spring Texas, is dying. He has cancer and he’s in his last days. He was given 1-2 months to live in September.
He’s also a big Star Wars fan, but he’s not likely to survive long enough to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, when it opens in theaters on December 18. Read more →
By all accounts, Misty Leonida’s son, Eli, 13, was looking forward to Halloween last weekend when he could help pass out candy and celebrate the day as family. He was going to trick-or-treat with his West Side St. Paul friends. Then he had a seizure and ended up in the hospital. Read more →
On Halloween, Georgia state trooper Nathan Bradley heard the particulars on his police radio of a traffic accident not far away from where he was patrolling.
He headed for the scene, he writes.
Read more →
Gary and Kris Rothers buried their daughter, Abby, in August in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish cemetery on south Highway 61 in Hastings, and then found that pots of mums were being stolen, a despicable crime, of course. Read more →
The University of Detroit Jesuit High School is providing homeless veterans something that the rest of the nation has refused to provide: a little respect. Unfortunately, they have to die to get it. Read more →
If you live in a metropolitan area, there’s a pretty fair chance that you’ll pull up to an intersection today and a homeless person will be standing there with a cardboard sign.
You might throw a few bucks his/her way, but probably not. More likely, you’ll try to avoid eye contact, and feel fairly miserable in the process.
There’s an alternative. Read more →
Greta Perske of Sartell, Minn., was 15 years old in 2006 when she was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. She got to dance at her wedding recently with the man whose marrow made a wedding day possible. Read more →
In suburban Columbus, Ohio, a church ordered a pizza during a service and when the delivery person delivered it, the pastor asked her what was the largest tip she’d ever received.
Told it was $10, he delivered this. Read more →
If you’re a city slicker and you don’t take a drive to farm country, you’re missing quite a show at this time of the year.
Read more →
A 76-year-old man has pretty much given up on life after his house was damaged in a storm and his son was killed on a snowmobile. He now lives in a small camper with no electricity, heat, or running water.
So Angela Nguyen, who delivers pizzas, stepped in. Read more →