Bob Collins
Color me skeptical about the latest poll purporting to show that journalists aren’t doing a good enough job of explaining how journalism works. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
The intersection of arts, culture, and mass murder is nearly impossible to comprehend, but we’re getting there, sadly. Read more →
Although, obviously, there are local elections, elections are national things and should it be tougher for an American to vote in one state rather than another? Why not just have one set of rules for 50 states and the territories? Read more →
We are choosing to take some comfort in the knowledge that no matter what fresh hell awaits us in the news this week, we are still a people who will gather in the pouring rain, to watch a dog chase sheep from one end of the field to another, dispelling the notion that we return to work today to work like a dog. Read more →
A lot of local airports get FAA funding — which also makes it harder for communities to close their airports — but Silver Bay didn’t have enough pilots and planes left to earn the money.
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Timing is everything in the world, so news that volunteers have proven humans are smarter than giant bogs comes with a measure of restrained celebration. Read more →
Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →
During the downpour on Saturday, probably three hours into what turned out to be a four-hour rain delay, nobody was in the entire upper deck of the outfield seating at Target Field in Minneapolis except a father and his little boy (7 or 8 years old, I’d guess), who were under the scoreboard overhang. The boy was patiently waiting, his baseball glove still on his hand. Read more →
Some kids can survive the roadblocks that we put in their way; some kids can’t.
This is a difficult video to watch but the invitation is clearly there for us to consider this question: Why are we putting the roadblocks in their way?
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Herman Borntreger, of August, Wis., not only owns a dam, he owns one of the most photographed places in all of Wisconsin: Dells Mill. Owning a dam can be an expensive proposition when it becomes unsafe. But we’re talking history here and some people just can’t walk away from it. Read more →
Marilyn Hagerty, the columnist for the Grand Forks Herald, got roasted by those who thought they know restaurant reviews better because she wrote a restaurant review of an Olive Garden some years ago. Then Anthony Bourdain stepped in and defended her with a single tweet. Read more →
At last check, they’re still jamming in Fargo where they’re trying to break the record for the world’s longest jam session. Read more →
I’ve heard your calls for some “Friday” news that doesn’t leave you hopeless.
I’m here for you. Read more →
People are and have been asking for help. And too often the answer — closing a crisis hotline, rejecting a mental health clinic in your town because you’re afraid of the impact on your children, or turning a wellness check into a SWAT shootout — is ‘no.’ Read more →
Professional sports provides a distraction from life’s realities, but the athletic force field is no match for a scourge like Alzheimer’s. Read more →