Bob Collins
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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MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Archives for June 2018
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 →
Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →
‘You can’t believe the dysfunction of the family,’ said Jay Dehmalo, who lives near Cleveland now. Read more →
The decision to close a statewide crisis hotline has never looked more faulty than with the news from the Centers for Disease Control that the rate of suicides in Minnesota is among the most severe in the country. Read more →
I try not to use the self-checkout lane in grocery and hardware stores. I’m old school; I think people should be able to make a living — or close to it — and the money they earn should circulate around the local economy, helping other businesses and maybe even leaving enough money for people to throw at the local public radio outlet. Read more →