Bob CollinsLike or not, Hennepin County sheriff Rich Stanek was within his legal right to send Hennepin County deputies and equipment to North Dakota to put down a protest by Native Americans against an oil pipeline near their land. Read more →
MPR News Reflections and observations on the news
Politics
We cop to feeling some hope for normalcy in the country whenever we see a president of the United Stand outside the White House while 4,000 Washington DC school kids file by to get candy from him. That some dressed like Scooby Doo, only makes us swell with pride. Read more →
Tracy Mumford
One 8-year-old boy’s costume is a reminder that, for kids of any gender, dressing like a powerful politician no longer just means dressing like a man. Read more →
If you’re sick of all the political campaigning and the dueling letters to the editor, it’s only because you haven’t yet met Michael Holmes, a former Red Wing resident, who suggests you pay attention to what he has to say about the race for mayor in the city. Read more →
Baby Boomers, the same crowd that put ABBA in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, thank you very much, will probably put up some sort of spirited defense against a column by the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank. . But there’s one problem with trying: Milbank has a point.
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There’s a pretty good joke making the rounds ahead of the World Series, which starts tonight in Cleveland.
‘It’s been so long since the Cubs or Indians have won a World Series that the last time they did, the presidential campaign of 2016 hadn’t even started yet.’ Read more →
The latest New York Times’ op-doc features Yankovic and The Gregory Brothers teaming up to try to make us feel better, just as the dance band on the Titanic did. Read more →
What are the ethical implications in reporting on stolen information without reporting where it came from and why it was leaked? Read more →
Since presidents and vice presidents are not allowed to drive, will either one of them remember how to do it after eight years away from the wheel?
Let’s check in with Joe Biden who, thanks to Jay Leno, had a road test the other day.
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I’m probably in the minority given that I was disappointed — again — when the final Clinton-Trump debate ended. I’ve never seen anything in the American experience that’s quite like this, of course. And yet, I can’t look away. Read more →
Football is knee-deep in hypocrisy when it comes to alcohol. Beermakers are major advertisers, teams play up tailgating and drinking, it’s a tremendous source of revenue at the concession stand, and when the game ends, only a fool would deny that a fair number of fans are getting in their cars hammered Read more →
The Minnesota Supreme Court today settled a long-running dispute over whether a BB gun is a firearm under Minnesota’s weapons laws.
It’s not, the court ruled, overturning a ruling from the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and reversing the conviction of a Ramsey County man. Read more →
Bloomberg Politics wins the Internet today for this video reassuring us — we think — that the coming election is not rigged.
One additional point it makes, however, is that it is, just not the way you think it is. Read more →
Some election officials, and some state laws, prevent police from providing security at polling places this election because they say it will make voters feel unwelcomed. Read more →
We’ve been amused over the years by the dynamic by which Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s name gets floated for high-profile gigs in Washington but there it is in black and white, thanks to the hacking of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s e-mail with the first cut-down of potential running mates. Read more →