Bob Collins
Here are the topics, guests, and stories you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
By Bob Collins
Bob Collins retired from Minnesota Public Radio in 2019 after 12 years of writing NewsCut and pointing out to complainants that posts weren’t news stories. A son of Massachusetts, he was a news editor 1992-1998, created the MPR News regional website in 1999, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day lamented that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.
Lee Sjolander, the official police chief of NewsCut City, issued a call to the people of Kenyon on Saturday that should be amplified to every city: Give the snow removal people a break.
Read more →
The mayor of Cormorant Township in Becker County has died.
Duke, as his friends called him, was a good boy. Oh, yes he was. He was a good boy.
Read more →
Arvid Dalby, of Debs, Minn., is the sort of guy you wish you’d known, and we know that because his family and/or friends have written pretty near the perfect obituary, featured here in our continuing series on the subject.l Read more →
A student in California is protesting her high school’s refusal to allow her to wear her MAGA hat. The news here, of course, is that the high school kids may actually be motivated by her complaint to read and study the U.S. Constitution. Read more →
The horrible story out of Staples, Minn., is a major test of the ability of us to forgive. Read more →
If you’re the type to toss the sports section from the daily newspaper, you’ll miss a well-written and bittersweet story about a father who’s trying to press on after his son killed himself. Read more →
Like the cavalry rescuing the town under siege, MnDOT has been given a hero’s response on Twitter after posting this video of a team of plows tackling I-694 in Maplewood this week. Read more →
Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →
Maybe there’s a property line there somewhere and these rules of boundaries must be followed.
Or you can forget that we’ve reached the end of the “isn’t it pretty?” season and the fact the ongoing snow is now bringing out the worst in us and shovel the sidewalk.
Read more →
Political ads have trended toward the warm and fuzzy lately, but a Wisconsin judge, running for the state Supreme Court, is having none of it, while at the same time reminding people in Minnesota that elections for judges can be illuminating, interesting, and deal with significant issues without soiling the candidate.
We are intrigued by the self-restraint shown by Minnesota’s and Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation to try to find s Read more →
Jonah Larson, 11, of La Crosse, Wis., has all the orders he can handle now that the La Crosse Tribune made him an international star because of his love of crocheting. Read more →
Karl Andresen, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, was one of the original participants in the Birkebeiner ski race, the latest staging of which will be held this weekend. He left behind a family that won’t forget its Norwegian roots. Read more →
We are through one round of the great Twin Cities snowball challenge and, so far, St. Paul is wiping its snow-clogged streets with the spiffy neighbor. Read more →