Robin Washington
Contributing columnist
Issues & CultureRobin Washington is a producer-host for Wisconsin Public Radio and was previously editor-in-chief of the Duluth News Tribune. He is passionate about transportation (and invites readers to share their experiences with him), civil rights, history and northeastern Minnesota. His columns have run in dozens of newspapers. His seminal work is his PBS film on the first Freedom Ride, “You Don’t Have to Ride Jim Crow!" He makes his home in both Duluth and St. Paul.
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Latest from Robin Washington
Washington: Roles flip between feds and states in fight over ICE shooting probe
60 years before Renee Good, there was Viola Liuzzo. The roles played by the states and the U.S. in response to their killings seem to have flipped.
January 10, 2026
Washington: One last Hail Mary idea to save (part of) the Northstar Line
I rode its last train Jan. 4 after the Vikings game and mulled over my idea with passengers and a Metro Transit executive.
January 5, 2026
Washington: This painting by an unknown artist may hold secrets to a Green Book hotel’s past
It was purchased from a stranger in 1973 and will soon hang in the former Avalon Hotel, which for years sheltered Black and Jewish travelers turned away elsewhere.
December 13, 2025
Washington: Will AI replace journalists? Ask a bat librarian.
From imaginary experts to garbled graphics, AI still needs humans to keep it from going off the rails.
November 25, 2025
Washington: 50 years after Edmund Fitzgerald wreck, story endures despite ballad’s myths
A Michigan documentarian reflects on how Gordon Lightfoot’s song both preserved and distorted the doomed ship’s history.
November 10, 2025
Washington: 10 good things about Metro Transit — including one that’s simply priceless
Despite all the system’s woes, I asked riders to share stories of what works.
November 6, 2025
Washington: Buses should not leave early. But this one did.
My Jefferson Lines bus departed 12 minutes ahead of schedule last week, leading to retraining for “inexcusable” staff actions and a road trip with two other stranded passengers.
October 23, 2025
