Bob CollinsTomorrow is the third anniversary of the Tucson assassination attempt on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. A gunman’s rampage in Connecticut pushed the Giffords shooting to the sideline in the ongoing debate over gun control legislation. Six people were killed. Giffords, as most people know, was seriously hurt, has had a slow and remarkable recovery, and Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Nate MinorFive years ago, Minneapolis-area author Neil Gaiman donated a signed advance copy of his book Stardust to Wisconsin author Patrick Rothfuss who was organizing a benefit for Heifer International. Then a funny thing happened. Read more →
Keeping watch over one another, the cold reality of Minnesota, is there room for a driverless car in Minnesota, Friday Night Tykes, and church without the religion Read more →
Utah gay couples who got married might not be married, more school closings, the last DC-9, health care spending has slowed, what about Jay Gruden as the new Vikings head coach, and if it’s OK to put the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol, why not this Satanic monument? Read more →
The Mediaite media critic site is taking CNN to task for making a journalist bundle up and go outside, pretty much like everyone else in Minnesota who had to go to work today. It was all the way up to -15 by the time the CNN reporter began her “torture.” It’s mostly showbiz. Reporters have Read more →
It’s hard to know how to feel about the big story surrounding this photograph: It’s the type of picture that photographers take when they get the assignment to go out and shoot pictures of the cold weather. There’s always homeless people around, trying to stay warm. This homeless person, Nicholas A. Simmons, 20, of Greece, Read more →
Call it an “arctic hurricane” and the polar vortex sound scary. Read more →
For what did Americans die in Iraq, the oil trains of Minnesota, how a Minneapolis social worker gives people a lift, losing weight eating nothing but McDonald’s food, and the obligatory post about the cold. Read more →
A private jet crashed while attempting a second landing in Aspen this afternoon, at least one of the three people on the plane died. The aircraft was a private Canadair CL-600-2B16 Challenger 601-3R from Mexico. It was making a stop in Aspen and was to return to Mexico this evening. Comedian Kevin Nealon tweeted: “Horrible Read more →
If you’re one of the few remaining Minnesotans who actually likes winter, you’re going to have to grin and bear it for the next few days as weatherpeople struggle to describe an awful temperature in more awful terms. It’ll be sickeningly cold; everyone understands that. So why do weatherpeople work so hard to make it Read more →
There’s a great story behind the life of almost every World War II veteran but relatively few can match that of Bill Overstreet. Overstreet was a P-51 fighter pilot in the European theater. He flew in Chuck Yeager’s unit — the 357th Fighter Group, which shot down more German aircraft than any other unit, based Read more →
The reality for Baby Boomers nearing retirement is most of them know that if they lose their jobs today, they’re done. Read more →
Where are the NFL activists, dispatches from winter, blaming the victim in car crashes, the lack of diversity in fire departments, and what a Fargo teen did for love. Read more →
A body has been discovered in the aftermath of the Cedar Avenue explosion in Minneapolis, an extended conversation on the Chris Kluwe article, and why your dog may be the best compass. Read more →
Long before there was Obamacare, an underpinning of the health care debate in the United States has almost always been that with health care, people won’t use much-more-expensive emergency rooms at hospitals for primary medical care. Read more →