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NewsCut

MPR News Reflections and observations on the news

By Bob Collins

Bob Collins
bcollins@mpr.org • @newscut

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.

What’s on MPR News – 2/21/19

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 21, 2019, 6:00 AM Feb 21, 2019
3

Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →

This or That

In search for a hero’s family, a lesson in integrity

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 20, 2019, 4:35 PM Feb 20, 2019
2

When Amanda Kehler, who runs a cafe and antique store in Steinbach, Manitoba(about 90 miles northwest of Warroad), was out antiquing a week or so ago, she thought the stack of old newspapers and documents she bought for a dollar was a pretty good deal.

It might have been a priceless one because this letter from Earl Sorel was in it. Read more →

Education · Weather

Snow way: This Mpls. principal rode his bike to school

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 20, 2019, 11:58 AM Feb 20, 2019
10

If the school principal can ride a bike to school, calling it off isn’t a good decision.
Read more →

Science

No, airplanes weren’t breaking the sound barrier this week

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 20, 2019, 10:48 AM Feb 20, 2019
18

The person I picked up while Lyfting last night at the airport was exhausted. “It was like flying to Los Angeles,” he said of the more than three-hour flight from Boston. He was the victim of nature to an extent rarely seen, and he’s the yang to the yin of the focus of stories about Read more →

Education · Weather

Milaca may ease crackdown on kids riding snowmobiles to school

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 20, 2019, 8:30 AM Feb 20, 2019
4

You have to give it to the kids in Milaca. They don’t let a little — or a lot — of snow stop them from getting to class. Read more →

War

No happy ending for Syrian family embraced by Canadian city

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 20, 2019, 7:15 AM Feb 20, 2019
11

Today’s story is about seeing the big picture, particularly for parents who are outraged that school has been canceled around here today and their kids are safe at home and presenting quite an inconvenience. Read more →

What’s on MPR News – 2/20/19

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 20, 2019, 5:43 AM Feb 20, 2019
27

Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →

Education · Sports

‘Big Booby,’ ‘Big Booty’ cheerleader awards just a joke, Wis. coach insists

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 19, 2019, 4:42 PM Feb 19, 2019
28

The awards for biggest breast, biggest rear end, and thinnest body were handed out at last spring’s award before the American Civil Liberties Union sent a formal letter to Tremper High School today warning that it might sue for sexual harassment. Read more →

Crime and Justice

What will it take to get you not to look at your phone when driving?

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 19, 2019, 3:21 PM Feb 19, 2019
1

Today’s tweet from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety — and the accompanying picture of Megan Goeltz — is about as infuriating as it gets.
Read more →

Arts & Culture

Good news, Robbinsdale kids: ‘Poetry and the Age’ is back on the shelf

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 19, 2019, 1:55 PM Feb 19, 2019
5

We’re more than a little interested in whether the unnamed person in the Robbinsdale Cooper High School Class of ’71 ever amounted to anything now that she’s come forward with her overdue copy of Poetry and the Age. Read more →

Science

Supermoon? Super meh

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 19, 2019, 11:06 AM Feb 19, 2019
21

The notion of a Super Moon wasn’t even a “thing” until March 2011, when the moon came within 123 miles of the closest its ever been to earth Read more →

People are jerks

Dogs get the boot from Rosedale

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 19, 2019, 9:28 AM Feb 19, 2019
35

There are really only two kinds of dog owners: humans and pigs.

A walk — any walk — reveals this fact with the number of dog droppings that weren’t picked up. How hard can this be?
Read more →

Health

A health crisis: $350 insulin in the U.S. that’s $50 in Canada

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 19, 2019, 8:38 AM Feb 19, 2019
13

Travis Paulson, of Eveleth, has contacted all of the politicians who represent him and hasn’t been impressed with their response to the problems of hundreds of thousands of people who have diabetes: the cost of insulin is — or getting to be — beyond their means.

Paulson should know. Read more →

Sports · Weather

Vikings QB commits cardinal sin: makes fun of Minnesota weather

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 19, 2019, 7:04 AM Feb 19, 2019
40

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was unimpressive in leading his team to missing the playoffs, had the temerity to like the weather in Florida. Read more →

What’s on MPR News – 2/19/19

Bob CollinsBob Collins February 19, 2019, 6:00 AM Feb 19, 2019
7

Here are the stories, topics, and guests you’ll hear today on MPR News. Read more →

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