NewsCut

5 x 8: We know what you did today
... but if you didn't do anything wrong, what's the problem? Also: the 40-year old photo that gives us reason to smile, Aaron's last wish, what Twitter made a guy do at the All Star game, and just when you think you couldn't love Carl Kasell any more.
Mary and Bob (7/17/13)
Politicians are shocked to learn the things Patriot Act opponents warned them about years ago have come true, what’s the big deal with the Rolling Stone cover, Minneapolis spent $400,000 lobbying for the Vikings stadium, hookers and pols in Saint Paul, and the dead eagle. Here’s today’s news conversation with Mary Lucia on The Current.
Minnesota from space
What’s the best way to get a view of Minnesota from space? Stick a Minnesotan in space. In earlier missions aboard the International Space Station, we were given views of the Twin Cities, as if that’s the only part of Minnesota worth looking at. That changed today, courtesy of astronaut Karen Nyberg, who spent her…
Wipes in the pipes vex city sewers
If people really knew where the water goes when they flush the toilet, they might be a little more careful about what they throw in it.
Death of an eagle
For all the symbolism our national bird embodies, it can be a pretty delicate bird. The Duluth News Tribune reports the bald eagle that was rescued after crashing onto a tarmac at the Duluth airport has been found dead. In the May incident, it and another eagle got their talons tangled. Mike Schrage, wildlife biologist…
Mary and Bob (7/16/13)
The Lark of Duluth crashed on Lake Superior today. The pilot escaped but it’s a setback for people who spent five years working on the project. Somehow, that story got us talking about Howard Hughes, the industrialist and famed aviator, and had us wondering if there are any industrialists left in the United States doing…
A ban on the United States delivering government-originated programming directly to its citizens has been quietly lifted and the Twin Cities Somali audience is one reason why.
Rain gardens challenge the suburban lawn culture
“This is crazy,” the man said as he and a colleague looked at the open pit in our front yard last week before turning to my wife. “I hope you like West Nile Virus,” he said. He was there to move the utility lines that stood in the way of one of 26 fascinating experiments…
Our rivers, our sewers
Our friend Daniel Alvarez, the man who kayaked from Minnesota to Key West last year, has given us a look at the nation's biggest rivers that makes us want to turn away.