Health Care
Minnesota’s uninsured rate remained flat early in the pandemic, report says
Minnesota’s uninsured rate remained mostly unchanged through the first half of 2020, according to data released Tuesday by the Minnesota Department of Health. The report is the first look at health insurance coverage rates in Minnesota during the pandemic. Health officials and providers had feared that tens of thousands of Minnesotans would lose coverage because […]
Walz writes to lawmakers about timeline for ending emergency powers
Gov. Tim Walz sent a letter to lawmakers Thursday laying out some conditions that would lead to a wind down of the peacetime emergency declaration under which he’s been governing for roughly 10 months. Walz’s use of emergency powers — which he’s used at various times to close schools, restaurants and bars, and to cancel […]
Pandemic hits women, people of color hardest
Kimberly Jones knew something was up as she was walking to a company-wide meeting and saw some veteran employees packing up their belongings. She’d started hearing rumblings about her regional airline company’s shaky future in February, when the word “coronavirus” was just becoming part of the American lexicon. On March 12, a work trip to […]
Testing for lead poisoning in children down during pandemic, raising alarms among health officials
Fewer Minnesota children have received lead tests during the pandemic, which could have lifelong consequences for them — and carry a heavy societal cost. During the two decades before the pandemic, Minnesota saw an increase in tests for childhood lead exposure and a decrease in the number of children with elevated levels of lead in […]
Minnesota overdose deaths up 30% in the first half of 2020
Overdose deaths in Minnesota increased by more than 30% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period last year, according to a new report from the Minnesota Department of Health. The report recorded 490 overdose deaths between January and June, compared to 373 deaths in the first half of 2019. The statistics […]
Thousands of Doctors’ Offices Buckle Under Financial Stress of COVID-19
Cormay Caine misses a full day of work and drives more than 130 miles round trip to take five of her children to their pediatrician. The Sartell, Minnesota, clinic where their doctor used to work closed in August. Caine is one of several parents who followed Dr. Heather Decker to her new location on the […]
What Minnesota’s flu vaccine rates can tell us about a COVID-19 vaccine rollout
A COVID-19 vaccine may be available in a matter of months — but convincing enough Minnesotans to get the shot might not be easy. Roughly one-third of Americans said they would not get a COVID-19 vaccine if it were available this month, the majority citing concerns about side effects or that the vaccines were moving too […]
In a post-Roe world, Minnesota would become a haven for abortion rights as other states move to restrict access
With a vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett slated for Oct. 22, the anxieties of some — and hopes of others — have been reignited: That Roe v. Wade may be overturned. On Tuesday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar pressed Barrett about her thoughts on Roe, the half century old […]
Minnesota has nation’s second-lowest child obesity rate
Minnesota has the nation’s second-lowest child obesity rate, according to a report published Wednesday by a national health advocacy organization. Just over 9% of children ages 10-17 in Minnesota were obese in 2018, well below the national rate of 15.5%, according to the rankings from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropic group. Tracking obesity […]
Minn. Gov. Tim Walz announces saliva testing sites amid rise in COVID-19 cases
Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday announced an expanded COVID-19 testing plan, opening new saliva testing sites and a pilot mail order program to help health officials track the spread of the virus. The new sites will offer free saliva tests to any Minnesotan who believes they need to be tested, according to a news release […]
Big fight over drug pricing with implications for Minnesota heads to the Supreme Court
A years-long fight over whether states have the authority to regulate important aspects of drug pricing will be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday morning. At issue is whether prescription middlemen, known as “pharmacy benefit managers,” will have to bow to state authority over a huge swath of their business or if federal law […]
In debate, Jason Lewis veers into debunked conspiracy theories about wildfires in the West
Jason Lewis, the former talk radio host and one term Republican congressman veered into debunked conspiracy theories about wildfires and urban rioting during a debate with Sen. Tina Smith in their U.S. Senate race. Regarding wildfires in the West, he said, “And by the way, when it comes to wildfires, it is amazing how smart […]