Bob CollinsIt says something about the state of the United States when the political ad worth watching is one for dog food. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
It’s quite a parade and party going on this afternoon in Chicago, where tens of thousands of fans are celebrating the Cubs’ World Series victory of Wednesday night.
But Budweiser won the week, too, with its well-timed revival of long-dead Harry Caray, the team’s broadcaster from back when they weren’t very good. Read more →
Acting on the advice of experts, schools have pretty well lowered the cone of silence on the issue of suicides by students. They’re worried that it will lead to a copycat syndrome.
So it’s shocking to learn, as we did via NPR today, that middle school suicides have reached an all-time high, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Read more →
What’s the big deal with parking in front yards? Basically, it’s ugly and allegedly ruins neighbors’ property values, the theory goes, so many communities outlaw the practice.
Your home may be your castle, but it’s not your parking lot. Read more →
‘We had a pact,’ Wayne Williams said. ‘When the Cubs – not if, when – the Cubs got into the World Series, we would make sure we listen to the games together.’ Read more →
Paul TostoBear up a tree brings out Duluth’s paparazzi. Read more →
If you hadn’t noticed, the Star Tribune is apparently bucking the trend of dying newspapers in the country and it’s getting love today from Poynter, the journo think tank. Read more →
The world is populated by decent people, but today — unlike almost every other day — it seems impossible to prove the assertion. Read more →
There’s a beautiful symmetry in Boyd Huppert’s KARE 11 story last night about the final goodbyes between Erling and Emmett, the now six-year-old boy and his former 91-year-old neighbor. Read more →
Drink up, people! We’ve got some serious uniting to do, still. Read more →
Game 6 of the World Series is tonight and, if you believe the national media, there’ll be a Game 7 tomorrow night. And then, that’ll be it for baseball. It will disappear during the months of darkness, surely no coincidence.
The presidential campaign of 2020, however, will begin a week from today.
Read more →
Nothing seems to be working when it comes to getting people to stop texting and driving so there’s at least a minimal level of understanding for the authorities in the Broadhead, Wis., school district — southwest of Milwaukee — who told students at the beginning of the school day last week that four of their friends were dead.
Read more →
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania made the ruling this week in the case of Jason Roy Waugaman, 35, who had dropped his kids off at his wife’s home during a custody exchange. She stood in front of his truck, he hit the gas to scare her and drove off while giving her the obscene gesture. Read more →
It’s been eight years since the United States elected a black president, and some people are still depicting him in a lynching.
This time, it’s fans at last weekend’s University of Wisconsin game against Nebraska. Read more →
When his dad, Rey, died in the spring of 2015, Sam Heras, a 17-year-old, had to give up football at his Irondale high school to help support his mother. They’d been notified they were losing their house. No time for games. Last week, his mother died. Read more →