Bob Collins

Minneapolis cops can ticket you for having car stereo turned up too loud, appeals court rules

It's not just annoying -- it's criminal.SEE ALSO: Minnesota Supreme Court rules you can legally drunk-drive Segways Yesterday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that Minneapolis police can indeed ticket you for blasting your car stereo too loudly.

Astronaut snaps picture of Twin Cities from space [PHOTO]

Astronaut Thomas H. Marshburn has been taking very cool pictures of world metropolises during his stint at the International Space Station, and thankfully for us, he's gotten in the habit of uploading them to his Twitter account.SEE ALSO: Minnesota owl uses talons to carry helpless, possibly doomed ... More >>

MinnPost, MPR bloggers ding Vikings reporters for getting scooped on Percy Harvin trade

It's a good day for Percy Harvin. He gets traded from an organization he didn't seem particularly enthused to be a part of in the first place; presumably gets a new, lucrative, long-term contract; and, as an added bonus, the ganja-friendly wide receiver is headed to Seattle, Washington, where mariju ... More >>

County Attorney Scannell had relationship with teen months after being shot by sex offender

Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell has been hit with a court order to stop communicating with a 17-year-old girl with whom he was romantically involved.SEE ALSO: -- Carlton County Attorney Thom Pertler's 0.234 DUI arrest: The dashboard footage [VIDEO]-- Kerry Gauthier sex scandal: Are these his oral ... More >>

Big Bird emerges as somewhat divisive figure in Minnesota, new polling says

By now, you know the backstory. Last Wednesday, during the first presidential debate, Mitt Romney vowed to cut federal funding for PBS, saying "I love Big Bird... But I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it."SEE ALSO:-- Obama up 7 in Minnesota, Klob ... More >>

Voicemail warns Treehouse Records about offending half its customers with 'Vote No' signs [AUDIO]

Treehouse Records has posted the audio of an anti-liberal and anti-gay marriage voicemail on its Facebook page.SEE ALSO:-- Ex-Viking Matt Birk: "Not all NFL players think redefining marriage is a good thing"-- Rep. Mary Franson on homosexuality: 'I personally do not believe it is normal behavior'-- ... More >>

State Fair knockout: Police officer gets kicked in the head [VIDEO]

SEE ALSO:-- MN for Marriage seeks removal of fair vendor who said she spit in Vote Yes guy's lemonade-- KARE 11 criticized for hosting "potentially harmful" health screenings at State FairSunday's State Fair festivities were marred by two fights, one of which involved a police officer getting knocke ... More >>

Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" belief likely stems from University of Minnesota paper

SEE ALSO:-- Bachmann, Kline, and Cravaak want to redefine rape because of abortion funding-- Donald Ingerson of Ely confesses rape thinking statute of limitations is up, gets arrestedRepublican U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin's troubling "legitimate rape" view may have its origins in an academic pap ... More >>

Michele Bachmann's Keith Ellison comments: Media criticized for "unconscionable" headlines

SEE ALSO: Michele Bachmann on Ellison: 'He has long record of association with Muslim Brotherhood'It's one thing to report that "Bachmann alleges Ellison has ties to Muslim Brotherhood." It's quite another to go with "Bachmann ties Ellison to Muslim Brotherhood."Two respected elders of the Twin Citi ... More >>

Michael Brodkorb and Amy Koch could spend a year in jail for extramarital boinking

Minnesota's adultery statute says that "when a married woman has sexual intercourse with a man other than her husband, whether married or not, both are guilty of adultery and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both."And loo ... More >>

Amy Senser should stand trial in Hennepin County, prosecutors argue

​Amy Senser's trial approaches April 23, but before a jury can be seated the Hennepin County judge overseeing the case must determine whether Senser can get a fair trial in Minneapolis. Senser's attorney Eric Nelson requested a change of venue to Kandiyohi County earlier this month on the grounds ... More >>

Andrew Zimmern tweets in support of Chef Phanthavong, Amy Senser's victim

​Bizarre Foods host Andrew Zimmern tweeted his support for dead True Thai chef Anousone Phanthavong Friday afternoon. Phanthavong had worked at True Thai since 2002. He was the restaurant's head cook until Amy Senser ran him over on the Riverside exit of I-94 last August. A Hennepin County judge ... More >>

Santorum's low-turnout, symbolic Minnesota victory signals Republican dissatisfaction

​Well, with Romney finishing a distant third, T-Paw is looking less influential than ever, isn't he?Rick Santorum crushed his Republican presidential competitors during yesterday's Minnesota GOP caucus, but the victory is only as significant as the momentum it generates for his campaign in states ... More >>

RIP Tom Keith, a.k.a. The Morning Show's Jim Ed Poole

Publicity photo via MPRTom Keith, a.k.a. Jim Ed Poole (right) with Morning Show co-host Dale Connelly​Tom Keith, who radio listeners will recognize as Jim Ed Poole, co-host of MPR's long-running roots-heavy Morning Show, passed away unexpectedly last night of unknown causes. He was 64 years o ... More >>

Anna Prasomphol speaks out about local media coverage of Amy Senser hit-and-run

Anna Prasomphol, owner of True Thai restaurant, says Phanthavong was her best friend.​Amy Senser's hit-and-run accident has been ruled "accidental" by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. But Anna Prasomphol, owner of True Thai restaurant where Anousone Phanthavong was the head chef, doesn't thin ... More >>

Star Tribune: We didn't "spike" hit-and-run op-ed critical of Amy Senser, it's "still under consideration"

Scott Gillespie, Strib opinions editor, says he didn't spike Anna Prasomphol's piece.​Amy Senser is getting a lot of criticism for the hit-and-run accident that killed Anouone Phanthavong, and yesterday, figures in the local media came up for some criticism too. The harsh feedback came thanks to a ... More >>

Star Tribune spikes op-ed critical of Amy Senser

Amy Senser is still walking around free, and Anna Prasomphol doesn't like that.​Amy Senser is still walking around a free woman three weeks after the hit-and-run accident that killed Anousone Phanthavong, despite Senser's having confessed to the crime through her attorney. As investigators assembl ... More >>

KDWB's Dave Ryan in the Morning Show issues statement about Hmong 'parody' song

​Though the joke song was presented flippantly three weeks ago and then mostly forgotten about by the staff, KDWB's Dave Ryan in the Morning Show has come under fire this week after an audio recording of their "parody song" about Hmong culture was uploaded online and sparked backlash from the Twin ... More >>

Don Shelby unretires and moves to MinnPost

Don Shelby rides again -- online.​Don Shelby just couldn't help himself. Two months after signing off as the iconic anchor at WCCO-TV, he's re-emerged as a writer for MinnPost, the non-profit news home for "thoughtful journalism." And he's using his inaugural column, replete with his promo ph ... More >>

Former Winter Carnival Vulcan suspected in hit-and-run

Stpaulvulcans.orgSt. Paul police say one of the 2006 Vulcan Krewe was involved in a hit-and-run over the weekend.​It just wouldn't be a real Winter Carnival unless the Vulcans were in trouble. A customer standing on the patio of a bar in St. Paul told cops he saw the driver of a vintage Ford fire ... More >>

Policy and a Pint: The Line Between News and Opinion

Tom Emmer adviser tweets tip debacle's a loser issue by mistake

Tom Emmer waits tables to try and show he's not out screw servers​Confirming that Tom Emmer's mangled comments about $100,000-a-year waiters and waitresses, the minimum wage and long-suffering restaurant owners landed him in seriously bad PR doodoo, campaign adviser David Strom gave the whole ... More >>

Tom Emmer goes after food server wages

Emmer plans to go after the rich...servers?​Based on his statements yesterday, it seems Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Emmer has never worked in the restaurant business. At the Eagle Street Grille in St. Paul he proposed that restaurant owners should pay a lower minimum wage (ofte ... More >>

Tim Pawlenty's pastor opposes Arizona's anti-immigration law

Leith Anderson, Tim Pawlenty's pastor​The Rev. Leith Anderson, pastor at Wooddale Church in Edina -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty's church -- and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, is part of a growing movement among Christian conservatives criticizing Arizona's new and controversial ... More >>

Star Tribune infecting web readers with a computer virus

Read the Strib online at your own risk--it is delivering malware to some users.

Mike Rivard, Randy Nugent revealed as Bush billboard sponsors

A Republican blogger gets the scoop on the mysterious billboard backers.

George W. Bush "miss me yet?" billboard derails day for MPR's Bob Collins

When the Drudge Report linked to a post about the billboard, his phone began to ring incessantly and comments below the post turned vile.

Los Angeles football stadium sure looks heavy on Vikings purple

Talk about a tease.

Pilots land planes on frozen Minneapolis lake to order burgers

Seemed like a good idea at the time, but that was before Minneapolis Park Police showed up.

When a tornado strikes, we photograph it

Is this the most photographed storm in Minnesota's history? Probably.

Saints give away souvenir cups... for your balls

The St. Paul Saints are hoping you'll have a ball with this giveaway. It's all the support you'll ever need in tough times.

Adam Gurno pwns the New York Times

Rosemount man calls out the use of a digitally altered picture.

MPR News Q -- The official definition of "Q"

Hint: It has nothing to do with Star Trek.

Minnesota kids rock the National Spelling Bee

The Scripps National Spelling Bee started today and five Minnesota kids are in the race to be named the best underage speller around.

Twisdom: June bugs and colonics

We've got some Twisdom to throw your way. Check out what kind of "genius" some locals had to spew this week on Twitter.

Moms to blog for coupons

General Mills has bribed some 900 people -- most of them moms -- into blogging nice things about the company. In return for their positive PR work, they get free coupons and samples.

Franken sues to get seated before election contest settled

Leave it to the guy who is ahead to get really really impatient. Al Franken's attempt to get an election certificate failed yest ... More >>

Steve Kelley talks policy tonight... with beer

Cafe Scientifique heads to Bryant Lake Bowl to get their wonk on.

Mitt Romney gets into DNC ... on someone's press pass

MPR's Bob Collins thinks Denver is full of assholes