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Richard Parker

Roseville, MN
Commenter for
5 years 25 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 07/23/12 at 05:12 pm in response to Wisconsin frac sand sites double

... must be turning over in his grave as large scoops of his beloved state are literally sold by greedy interests: “We have the best sand in the world,” said Tom Woletz, the frac sand specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “And we have a lot of sand.”

Posted on 07/23/12 at 05:03 pm in response to After Muslim Brotherhood controversy, Democrats see an opening against Bachmann

This may be Michele Bachmann's "At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" moment. Kind of takes my breath away to see Messrs. Tester and Swift sticking up for the long-discredited Joe McCarthy.

Posted on 07/24/12 at 03:15 pm in response to MPR, national parent lay off 10 employees, citing 'challenges'

Learned yesterday (Monday 7/23) that a talented, hard-working young relative of mine has just been laid off by APM. News came a couple days after an invitation to his son's first birthday party. His wife has been a full-time mom rather than returning to work. They have a south Minneapolis house with a mortgage, of course. Glad to hear that the highly paid executives are realigned to position MPR/APM for maximum effectiveness in delivering content in a leaner and meaner world of gobbledygook...

Posted on 05/30/12 at 01:36 pm in response to 'Ex-town' Jonathan still has distinct touches of its futuristic beginnings

Thanks for a great article! I don't know why I haven't gone back to look around Jonathan in decades. In the very early 1970s Jonathan and Cedar-Riverside were in the news as (literally) groundbreaking experiments in planned urban/suburban/exurban living to accommodate the surge in Baby Boomers starting their adult lives. Minnesota was in the forefront, of course. The Ralph Rapson-designed Cedar-Riverside towers were billed as a mixed-income "new town in town" and often paired up with...

Posted on 05/30/12 at 02:05 pm in response to 'Ex-town' Jonathan still has distinct touches of its futuristic beginnings

It's original enterprise stories like this that make Minnpost valuable to me. Thanks. And now to get silly: Jonathan is a curious monument to an unfulfilled utopian dream, the Twins have lost Joe Nathan, but luckily we still have education expert and activist Joe Nathan.

Posted on 05/25/12 at 12:17 pm in response to Star Tribune defends rejection of priests' anti-marriage-amendment letter

I'm a retired Strib staff member, a Catholic who has suspended participation in church membership over this issue, and a parishioner of Fr. Tom Garvey when he was at St. Andrew's in St. Paul. I like and respect Scott Gillespie and D.J. Tice -- proud to have worked with them -- but I disagree with the decision not to publish the letter. I think "nothing new here" is a weak argument. Exposure of the incident by MPR and Minnpost is a healthy step; I hope it's not just preaching to those of us...

Posted on 05/24/12 at 03:24 pm in response to City Council follows stadium script, approving project 7-6

My reaction on seeing the PP story about the U of M practice facilities:
Oh, for God's sake.

More whining about outdated, inadequate athletic facilities. The $5.5 million Taj MaHolz -- granted, it's 27 years old -- needs $3 million as an "immediate" priority. Another $15-$20 million is a must for basketball practice. Next I expect to see a visit from the head of the NCAA to underline the seriousness of the possibility the Gophers might leave town.

The story doesn't say...

Posted on 05/10/12 at 12:50 pm in response to Vikings stadium — what's in final deal and how House members voted

Sigh... Any other irony enthusiasts want to chip in with me to buy (from the Vikings) the right to name it Coleman Stadium?

Posted on 05/10/12 at 12:52 pm in response to Vikings stadium — what's in final deal and how House members voted

Incidentally, that illustration -- with an Armory but no Star (and) Tribune building visible -- still gives me the creeps.

Posted on 05/04/12 at 02:09 pm in response to Don't put your Amy Senser story next to an ad with a roadside ditch

Bound to happen with fewer human eyes involved in the process of packaging news and advertising. In the old days at the Tribune and then the Strib, paper layouts from the ad makeup department would label any ads for airlines or cigarettes; newsroom layout editors were required or expected to avoid placing stories about plane crashes or cancer, respectively, on those pages. A month ago the print Pioneer Press had a brief about "3 arrested for cannibalism" adjacent to a robo-placed ad (...