Bob CollinsMore than 22 percent of people living in Winona live below the federal poverty level. But exclude the number of college students in the college town and the number drops in half. The same is true for Mankato, another college town in the state. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Whatever happened to the sequester, the loudmouths at kids’ baseball games, a fortune in assisted living, should Reddit be held responsible for a smear, and what Northfield’s got that your town doesn’t. Read more →
The old Cottage Grove drive-in theater sign went up at the museum in Hastings this week where it will represent what Cottage Grove used to be before it worked hard to become everywhere else. It sits right next to the Porky’s drive-in building that used to be on University Avenue in Saint Paul. What’s at Read more →
Christina Clusiau says a lot of her friends were leaving northern Minnesota and heading to the oil fields of North Dakota when she came up with the idea of joining them. Her friends were mining oil. She was after stories. She’s a filmmaker and has released Black Rush Life. She found it’s more complicated than Read more →
Did you pay attention to the news this week? Prove it! Read more →
As predicted, a restaurant server in Iowa is the latest recipient of a huge tip, offered by a man who’s traveling the country leaving big tips in honor of his dead brother. Read more →
Slate’s Matthew Yglesias love Minneapolis but takes a whack at people who don’t want Dinkytown to change. Read more →
What’s the future of a one-company town, what does it mean to be a progressive, wrapping North Minneapolis, feed the world by eating bugs, and why are they ruining Monopoly? Read more →
Sen. Al Franken can’t risk being funny. Read more →
Nearly a quarter million people are expected to show up in Duluth this weekend with the arrival of the tall ships, which have made their way from Cleveland in the last week. The tall ships festival is expected to generate almost $15 million dollars for the local economy, according to organizers. The ships have been Read more →
In gun debate, the line between campaign contribution and bribe is thin. Read more →
Even despite all the revelations about the occasional despicable act — forging mortgage documents, for example — it’s a rare day that banks are held accountable for their misdeeds.
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Breaking the government intentionally, is it hot in here, close encounters of the Marshall County kind, the search for the family of a Marine killed on Saipan in WWII, and why old buildings matter. Read more →
I’m not going to post the usual news conversation with Mary Lucia of The Current today. It’s irrelevant compared to the news she delivered during her No Apologies track today, and anyone who’s ever had a love on four legs can understand. Read more →
We are raised to believe that success in the world depends on our ability to work hard enough. But as the haves begin to put more distance between themselves and the have-nots, let’s take a moment to observe another truth: it comes down to dumb luck. Read more →