Bob Collins
On this date 45 years ago, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students at Kent State protesting the war in Vietnam. Four people died. It’s impossible to forget. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
The battle of Berlin ended 70 years ago Saturday with the unconditional surrender of the Nazi garrison in the Reichstag to the Red Army.
Today, Chronos Media, the largest independent film archive in Germany, released this video of life in the city just two months later. Read more →
Be careful what you do at a football game; it might be the first line of your obituary.
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Julio Salazar has struggled with depression for most of his life but it was only a few years ago that he sought help. This week he’s running across Minnesota to raise awareness of mental illness and the availability of that help. Read more →
Three-year-old Evan Tulk and his grandma went to the Minnesota Zoo on Saturday and during a presentation at one of the exhibits, his father, Sgt. Joseph Scott, surprised him
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A New York Times story today reveals the extent to which one’s lot in life is luck — the randomness of where someone is born and raised. Read more →
The news that blues great B.B. King is now in hospice is a painful reminder that when you have a chance to see a legend, don’t miss it.
I’ve been a B.B. King fans for decades, which puts me in the minority of most people in the radio business, judging by the refusal of radio stations to play the blues with any regularity. For some reason, it doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Read more →
Stick a fork in the Labor Day telethon for Muscular Dystrophy. Read more →
A Madison, Wisc., family can no longer stay in their home because of death threats, and it’s a local TV station’s fault.
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There’s really no good reason to require bicyclists to stop at stop signs. It’s possible to see and hear intersecting traffic earlier on a bike than it is in a car, which is the primary reason cars are required to stop — to give the driver a proper amount of time to assess the traffic situation.
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If you pay any attention at all to the ongoing debate over whether women should be getting mammograms (and, if so, when) , there’s a pretty fair chance you’re confused. This week, NPR reported that several politicians are again pushing to override guidance from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that six years ago said Read more →
Since December, nine people between 12 and 24 have taken their own lives. Many more have tried, but failed.
There are only six mental health counselors on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, which is the size of Rhode Island and Delaware. Read more →
Sports talk radio host Jeff Dubay has been alternately an inspiration and a reminder of the insidiousness of drug use in his recovery from a cocaine addiction that cost him his career and his freedom years ago. Read more →
Paul Tosto
Military reunions don’t always involve humans. Read more →
We can live without Jon Stewart’s comedy when he gives up his gig on The Daily Show later this year. But his astounding grilling of New York Times reporter Judith Miller last night was a reminder that we’ll be hard-pressed to replace his journalistic chops when it comes to interviewing, or — more accurately — his refusal to be a megaphone for newsmakers peddling garbage. Read more →