The Star Tribune’s Steve Brandt reports today that across Minnesota, rec leagues are having a hard time finding enough teams of softball players. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news

It was a lovely morning walk at my usual appointed time of 5:45 this morning. The eastern sky was orange. I almost don’t need my headlamp anymore.
On Monday, that all disappears because somewhere along the line we decided the conveniences of the afternoon people were far more important than those of the morning people. Read more →

At least in comparison to the sedate sports scene of Minnesota, there’s no better sports soap opera than what’s happening in Boston this week.
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From a historical point of view, it has to be pointed out that it’s a poor representation of the lynching of African Americans because it wasn’t a lynching. It was an execution. That obviously doesn’t excuse the ugliness of the use of the photo, but a lynching is a murder without trial. Read more →

You might be inclined to conclude that electing — rather than appointing — a judge or justice doesn’t provide proper vetting, but then you have to look to the east and see what’s happening in Wisconsin’s race for the state Supreme Court.
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There are only 180 people who live in Meire Grove, Minn. And if the authorities hadn’t cracked down on the number of dogs people can own, they might be outnumbered. Read more →

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Christopher Dietzen has notified Gov. Dayton that he’ll leave the court at the end of August, a move that could shift the court to a somewhat more liberal leaning and put women in the majority. Read more →
Some male members of an Ottawa, Ont., restaurant had to find out for themselves whether a CBC story on how bad it is being a female server in a restaurant is as bad as reported.
It’s as bad as reported, they found. Read more →

Thirteen thousand refugees are stranded at the Idomeni refugee camp on the Macedonia-Greece border, the BBC reports today.
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The Minnesota Vikings want Chicago Avenue renamed. Read more →
NPR is about to unveil a new podcast and with any luck, it will change the too-earnest, too dispassionate culture of traditional public radio storytelling. Read more →

March is high-school tournament time in Minnesota, as you probably know. It’s a time when most of the attention around here will go to the metro-area public and private sports dynasties. Good for them and good luck to them.
But there’s always at least one team that’s a little easier to root for. Read more →

A Caribou Coffee and an Einstein Bagels shop opened up yesterday morning at 5 a.m., promising to reward the first 50 customers in line with a free cup of joe and a bagel once a week for year.
Would you sleep out on a sidewalk for more than 12 hours for that? Read more →
That short blast of summer earlier this week was a refreshing break from a mild winter, but perhaps you noticed something about it that we’ve never experienced before: guilt.
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I’ve written in this space before about the Facebook page of Kenyon police chief Lee Sjolander, whose writing reveals him as a philosopher, a healer, and counselor as well as being a cop. Read more →