NewsCut

1,000 Words: The family reunion
Someday, an alien civilization will land on a dusty planet and find a picture like this and conclude that the planet's demise was likely due to the insane people who waged wars.
One in 3 U.S. high school seniors did not read a book for pleasure in 2016. In the same time period, 82 percent of 12th-graders visited sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram every day. So what?
50 years for an MPR legend
Michael Barone's radio career was launched when Garrison Keillor, who did the KSJR morning show, floated down the Mississippi River while recording artists. When the tapes back to the station didn't arrive on time, Barone got his shot. He's been on MPR ever since.
Kids from Erasmus Sophia Children's Hospital in Rotterdam were invited to watch the soccer game between Feyenoord and Excelsior on Sunday. It was a nice time for the kids who got to stand on the pitch with their favorite players before the game started.
Buildings as billboards
There isn't anything in America anymore that can't be turned into a billboard. Now 3M has upped the game, turning its Maplewood headquarters into a billboard, using the same product it makes that wraps light-rail cars, for example, into rolling ads.
Sister Mary brings the heat
If Sister Mary Sobieck, who threw out the first pitch at Saturday's Chicago White Sox game, looks familiar to you, you're probably an old-time Northlander.