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NewsCut

MPR News Reflections and observations on the news

Arts & Culture

St. Paul’s skyway project won’t let us look away from each other

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 14, 2017, 3:58 PM Sep 14, 2017
43

I wasn’t prepared to lose my breath, however, when I made a dash to the Post Office through the skyway this afternoon. I had read in one of the papers that there’d be an installation of stories from people who also had chosen to come here from somewhere else.

But I didn’t expect it would be so downright beautiful. Read more →

Arts & Culture

Terry Gross, briefly

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 14, 2017, 2:10 PM Sep 14, 2017
9

We’re big fans of PBS NewsHour’s ‘Brief But Spectacular’ series, more so today because it provides a nod to a public radio god. Read more →

This or That

Dairy Queen advises customers: Christian music played here

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 14, 2017, 10:32 AM Sep 14, 2017
51

It’s simple, really. If you’re offended by a business playing Christian music, don’t walk through the front door of the Dairy Queen in Kewaskum, Wis.
Read more →

Politics

Mondale defends Franken role in blocking judge

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 14, 2017, 9:14 AM Sep 14, 2017
16

Former Vice President Walter Mondale knows the law. He also knows the Senate. And he’s firmly on the side of Sen. Al Franken in opposition to Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras’ appointment to the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Read more →

Sports

Anti-racism sign unfurled at baseball game

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 14, 2017, 8:29 AM Sep 14, 2017
50

Fenway Park in Boston and discussions about race in America seem to go hand in hand, which might well explain why three people — all of them white — unfurled a banner over the park’s fabled ‘Green Monster’ last night. Read more →

Politics

ESPN, Twitter, and the myth of objectivity

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 14, 2017, 7:03 AM Sep 14, 2017
60

Charles Pierce’s Sports Illustrated defense of Jemele Hill, the ESPN anchor who posted on her Twitter account that President Trump is a white supremacist surrounded by white supremacists, is a takedown of the news industry that is about as blistering as it gets. Read more →

Politics

Franken-Stras faceoff leads to silly ad by conservative group

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 13, 2017, 1:48 PM Sep 13, 2017
28

The judicial showdown between Minnesota Sen. Al Franken and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras is worthy of a vigorous debate over the role of senators who are responsible for vetting the nomination of candidates to the federal bench.

A conservative interest group chose a silly assessment instead. Read more →

Crime and Justice

How the government seizes your property just because it can

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 13, 2017, 12:25 PM Sep 13, 2017
8

When you consider the brouhaha that eminent domain — the government taking your land because it can do better with it — created as an issue a few years ago, it’s amazing that civil forfeiture doesn’t cause the outrage it should.
Read more →

Crime and Justice · Politics

MN Supreme Court throws out law against disorderly conduct at meetings

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 13, 2017, 11:08 AM Sep 13, 2017
4

The Court ruled in the case of Robin Hensel, of Little Falls, who was cited for disorderly conduct after she moved her chairs closer to city councilors at a meeting, days after the Council rescheduled a meeting when Hensel displayed signs that depicted dead and deformed children, blocking the view of others in the audience. Read more →

This or That

1000 Words: The first responders from the utility companies

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 13, 2017, 9:42 AM Sep 13, 2017
14

They’re the crews who piled into their trucks from points far away — including from Minnesota and Wisconsin — and drove to Florida for the overtime pay and privilege of touching electric wires and listening to the occasional complaint from some people that their electricity wasn’t restored yet after Hurricane Irma. Read more →

Sports

Vikings fans turn off a visitor from New Orleans

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 13, 2017, 8:20 AM Sep 13, 2017
61

The other day I attended my “interview” with the committee organizing volunteers to put a nice face on Minnesota when the Super Bowl is held in Minneapolis at the end of the NFL season, which started here Monday night when the Vikings played the New Orleans Saints. The goal is to send people away thinking Read more →

Crime and Justice

Why should we have to pay for credit reporting firm’s blunder?

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 13, 2017, 6:44 AM Sep 13, 2017
44

I don’t have much choice in this underreported affair; I have to freeze my credit at not only Equifax, but every other major credit reporting firm. And I had to pay for each one. Read more →

Sports

When broadcaster bombs at football game, Twitter blows up

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 12, 2017, 12:35 PM Sep 12, 2017
18

If you feel a little bad for what the online world did to Sergio Dipp last night, there’s hope for you. If you don’t, a heart transplant probably won’t help. Read more →

Education

Americans are constitutionally illiterate

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 12, 2017, 11:38 AM Sep 12, 2017
38

The annual Constitution Day survey of American knowledge of the Constitution was released today. Don’t get your hopes up; it’s as depressing as ever. Read more →

Arts & Culture · Health

The healing power of ballroom dancing

Bob CollinsBob Collins September 12, 2017, 9:50 AM Sep 12, 2017
5

After almost being killed by a bull, Jim Carter, of Duluth, lost the use of a leg. He joked to a friend that since he couldn’t ski anymore, he’d become a dancer instead. It turned out to be no joke. Read more →

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