MPR News Reflections and observations on the news

Archives for March 2009

A blizzard on the prairie

Bob Collins March 10, 2009, 12:02 PM Mar 10, 2009

12

It doesn’t appear the blizzard is going to affect the Twin Cities significantly, leaving those of us who lamented the prospect of another snowstorm feeling just a little — admit it — left out.

Tough times for lawyers, too

Bob Collins March 10, 2009, 11:21 AM Mar 10, 2009

The recession is eliminating jobs for thousands of lawyers.

Live-blogging Midmorning: The mayors

Bob Collins March 10, 2009, 8:59 AM Mar 10, 2009

3

A parallel online discussion of issues affecting Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The big chill at the Capitol

Bob Collins March 10, 2009, 7:19 AM Mar 10, 2009

23

Of all the problems currently facing the people of the state of Minnesota, being too informed about what the pols are doing at the Capitol isn’t one of them.

Are you smarter than a Minnesota math student?

Bob Collins March 9, 2009, 6:01 PM Mar 9, 2009

28

Whenever we discuss education in Minnesota, there’s a tendency to lament that our kids are stupid, our teachers poor, our schools failures.

Tracking the stimulus

Bob Collins March 9, 2009, 3:34 PM Mar 9, 2009

1

The first small slice of stimulus money has arrived in Minnesota. Local officials are scrambling to figure out what they can spend it on.

The Labor Day standard

Bob Collins March 9, 2009, 11:34 AM Mar 9, 2009

15

A Minnesota House committee today killed a bill that would’ve allowed schools to start classes before Labor Day.

Morality and the economic crisis

Bob Collins March 9, 2009, 11:02 AM Mar 9, 2009

A British MP paints the economic crisis in terms of morality, and says the borrower is as immoral as the banks.

Mondays

Bob Collins March 9, 2009, 10:45 AM Mar 9, 2009

MPR’s Tim Nelson was patrolling the St. Paul waterfront today when he saw someone’s summer being ruined.

Transparency

Bob Collins March 9, 2009, 9:35 AM Mar 9, 2009

2

Government officials seem to think ‘transparency’ means throwing a blizzard of numbers at you until you’re good and confused.

On Bill Holm

Bob Collins March 8, 2009, 8:34 PM Mar 8, 2009

4

They had a funeral for Bill Holm out in Minneota on Sunday. Then everyone went over to the Legion hall for lunch.

Are voters smart enough to figure out election law on their own?

Bob Collins March 8, 2009, 9:21 AM Mar 8, 2009

3

Perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court won’t be interested in settling the Franken-Coleman race, if it gets that far.

Privatization gone bad

Bob Collins March 7, 2009, 9:06 AM Mar 7, 2009

10

Is a scandal in Pennsylvania a symptom of a greater illness?

The vanishing signs of spring

Bob Collins March 7, 2009, 8:49 AM Mar 7, 2009

3

It’s getting harder to find the traditional things we cling to at the end of a long winter.

An escape to fashion

Bob Collins March 6, 2009, 2:12 PM Mar 6, 2009

5

How bad does the economy have to get before you ‘escape’ to the world of fashion?