Bob CollinsAre you feeling left out of the big blizzard, have you seen you, Fred Yiran, put the hand-helds down, and no beer at the fair.
1) THEY’VE STOLEN OUR LOUSY WEATHER
I’ll bet David Gebhardt of Winona can’t wait to get home and tell all of his friends about the hassle of being stranded at an airport because of the weather. He’s stuck outside the Miami airport, leaving the rest of us to recognize a Minnesotan in Florida in January February when we see one.
David is a casualty of the fierce — “powerful,” “potentially catastrophic” and “massive” were already taken — winter storm that has overtaken much of the Midwest. Chicago, in particular, is having a more miserable time of it than most anyone. And when O’Hare suffers, we all suffer, right, David?
Lake Shore Drive is/was a parking lot that required evacuations, Wrigley Field was damaged (what kind of minor league town lets snow damage a ballpark?), and they even had thundersnow (must-see video here).
In Kansas, they closed I-80 between Kansas and St. Louis. They don’t have the road barriers as they do in this neck of the plains. They depend on people taking their word for it and being smart. You see this sign, the snow doesn’t look that bad. What do you do?
So, am I sensing a certain disappointment that Minnesota is being left out of the nationwide blizzard?
Is it that nobody is asking us for pointers? That they can get along without our superior knowledge? Is it that a blogger in Chicago — a blogger for crying out loud — is telling the rest of the country what songs to listen to while they shovel?
Which brings me to my favorite tweet of the last 24 hours…
So, which is worse? A little bit of snow every day for weeks that you have to shovel, or one big snowstorm that you only have to put up with once?
2) HAVE YOU SEEN YOU?
We’ve reached the stage of meteorological winter in Minnesota when we need a little boost to make it to meteorological spring. We’re here to help. Here’s one idea. Get in your car and go ask people if they’ve seen the person you’re describing, while describing the person you’re talking to…
3) ON FRED YIRAN
Fred Yiran has died. The Cameroon native taught art, music, and life to thousands of young kids in St. Cloud, and hundreds of others throughout the state. His “basket of knowledge” theory taught kids they had to put knowledge in a basket, then share it with others. Last year, he was stuck down with diabetes and kidney disease. He died on Sunday.
4) PUT THE HAND-HELDS DOWN
Discussion point: Should Minnesota become the 10th state to ban all cellphone use while driving? A bill at the Senate would do that, WDIO in Duluth reports. But it bans “hands free” devices too, and that might be too much for lawmakers to approve..
5) NO BEER, HERE
There’ll be no beer at the Crow Wing County Fair this year… again.
“We’re all in the same boat in these hard times,” one resident said at a public hearing. “But why would we want to use beer sales to feed people’s addictions? This is a great county fair, it’s a dry fair and it makes for a wonderful family event.”
Question: If they stopped selling beer at the Minnesota State Fair, would you still go?
TODAY’S QUESTION
The Minnesota Legislature is debating a statewide salary freeze for teachers and other public school employees. Supporters say the move would save jobs and stabilize school district finances. Should the Legislature freeze salaries for public school employees?
WHAT WE’RE DOING
Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) – First hour: Vikings Stadium: Old Debates, New Faces and Hometown Emotions. Will the Metrodome collapse, a Democratic governor, the Republican-controlled Legislature and an expiring lease be enough to offset evidence that stadiums provide little to no economic benefit to communities? I’ll be live-blogging here.
Second hour: Internet service has been shut down since major protests erupted in Cairo and other Egyptian cities last week. But the media has still managed to get the news to the public – in and out of the country. Midmorning examines the role news outlets and citizen journalists have played in the ongoing protests.
Midday (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) – First hour: Developments in Egypt. Guest: Bruce Jentleson of Duke University.
Second hour: TBA
Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) – First hour: NPR political editor Ken Rudin.
Second hour: TBA
All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) – The government is deciding if genetically modified crops should be allowed on national wildlife refuges. Each year less than two percent of refuge land in the Midwest is farmed. Some environmental groups oppose the use of GMO crops on federal land. Refuge managers say genetically modified crops are sometimes best for the environment. MPR’s Dan Gunderson will report.
