Bob CollinsTen years ago today, Daniel Jay (apparently not his real name) went to a Christmas party, got drunk, then hit the road. Then he hit Emily Pothast’s parents. Her mom died instantly. Her dad bled to death in the hospital.
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MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Whalen suffered a massive and sudden stroke in Dallas. He couldn’t be saved, but he was kept alive so that his organs could be donated to someone else. Read more →
Oh, nothing. Just goofing off at work on a slow news day watching Aaron Rodgers being all Aaron Rodgers. You? Read more →
Bruce Hagen, the mayor Superior, Wisc., is in trouble with some of his constituents for making a personal opinion on his Facebook page, adding more fuel to a growing debate in America: What link should there — or shouldn’t there — be between someone’s personal opinion (no matter how insipid) and their public role? Read more →
This is my final day filling in for Kerri Miller on her MPR talk show and, I suppose, we’re not going to exactly ‘leave ’em laughing.’ Read more →
If we can defend the right to burn a cross in St. Paul, we can surely defend the right to post a message on Facebook, or to be compelled by the government to post something on Twitter. Read more →
Just a week after he was diagnosed with lung cancer, Billy Glaze died this morning, the Star Tribune reports. He was convicted of a series of murders of American Indian women in Minneapolis in the 1980s. But he may have been an innocent man. Read more →
CBS News anchor Scott Pelley reminds us that if some people didn’t get in the line of fire, the public might never know what happened. Sixty-nine journalists have been killed in 2015. Read more →
The more pages I read in Mary Norris’ book (Mary would insist I add an ‘s’ to that, but I refuse, in deference to the Taylor sisters), the more I want to ask the people who made up all of these rules of our language one question: Who hurt you? Read more →
This is the time of year when the small mysteries of winter can occupy us for literally minutes at a time. Read more →
Space and technology can still provide a few ‘gee whiz’ moments and SpaceX’s effort to create a reusable rocket finally paid off last evening when the Falcon 9 rocket landed perfectly upright, ending a short string of spectacular disasters in previous attempts.
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This is the Christmas card we should all be getting before we go off and do what too many of us around here seem to do.
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It’s hard to imagine anyone will still want to be president once the new season of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee debuts. Read more →
After a spate of high-profile airline problems in which passengers were stranded on planes for hours even though they were within sight of a gate, the Department of Transportation imposed rules with heavy fines for significant delays.
The airline industry warned that the rule would actually lead to more delays because they’d just cancel flights rather than delay them.
A study out today says that’s just what happened. Read more →
A Minnesota police officer blocks your car in parking lot, shines his spotlight on you and asks you to take a breathalyzer test. You refuse and lose your license. Legal? The judges said yes. Read more →