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Trump leads, and his party follows, on vaccine skepticism
Republished with permission from KFF Health News. More than four years ago, former President Donald Trump’s administration accelerated the development and rollout of the covid-19 vaccine. The project, dubbed Operation Warp Speed, likely saved millions of lives. But a substantial number of Republican voters now identify as vaccine skeptics — and Trump rarely mentions what’s […]
Department of Labor releases AI best practices for employers
The U.S. Department of Labor released a list of artificial intelligence best practices for developers and employers this week, aiming to help employers benefit from potential time and cost savings of AI, while protecting workers from discrimination and job displacement. The voluntary guidelines come about a year after President Joe Biden signed an executive order […]
HOA files: Otsego community hit with breathtaking roof repair bills
An Otsego homeowners association charged residents more than $18,000 each to replace their roofs, resulting in at least one foreclosure and leading residents to question whether the decision was made in the best interest of the community. They’re especially alarmed that the HOA board steered the roofing work to a contractor that’s a subsidiary of […]
This open enrollment period, watch out for unwelcome surprises of Medicare (Dis)Advantage
This fall, countless Minnesota seniors will be reexamining their Medicare coverage options for 2025 during the open enrollment period, which runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. I am far from Medicare eligibility age, but as a health economist, I frequently get asked by friends and family about what plan they should choose. After all, […]
OB-GYNs on the truth about abortion later in pregnancy
As OB-GYN physicians in Minnesota, we are relieved and hopeful to see elected officials and candidates at every level working to preserve access to reproductive health care. We know, however, that it can be difficult for citizens and lawmakers alike who do not have direct experience with high-risk pregnancy care to understand and articulate the […]
Reforms at the U.S. Supreme Court: Where do Harris and Trump stand?
This is one in a series of States Newsroom reports on the major policy issues in the presidential race. WASHINGTON — Democrats have increasingly cried out for new rules for the nation’s highest court, and the 2024 presidential election reflects a clear party divide over how Supreme Court justices should behave and whether they should […]
1 million+ patients lose coverage as insurers, hospitals drop Medicare Advantage
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Libby and Andrew Potter usually ignore the avalanche of Medicare Advantage ads that land in the mailbox at their home in Huntsville, Alabama, each fall as Medicare’s open enrollment period begins. Libby, a retired middle school librarian, has what she considers good health insurance through the state employee health plan. Andrew has […]
The Topline: A record breaking year for charter failures
Welcome to The Topline, a weekly roundup of the big numbers driving the Minnesota news cycle, as well as the smaller ones that you might have missed. This week: A record breaking year for charter school failures; Twin Cities apartment construction plummets; early voting returns; cannabis testing shenanigans; and Minnesotans’ electoral power. The Star Tribune […]
Local ad man on the words Dems can use to define the election: new, unity, American, freedom, truth
Winning an election in our divided, distracted culture with its hopelessly fragmented media landscape requires a deft mix of political strategy but also something else: brand marketing. Kamala Harris and her party navigated the politics of this wild summer with nary a misstep. To my eyes informed by decades in the advertising business, they’re also […]
Former U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, a DFL champion of the Iron Range, dies at 80
Republished with permission from Iron Range Today. Rick Nolan, a DFLer who represented Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District and was among the Iron Range’s strongest voices in Washington, D.C., died Friday at age 80. “Rick Nolan was a champion for the Northland who fought fiercely to protect working people from corporate interests,” Minnesota DFL Chair Ken […]
Corn and soybean associations study: Farmers would suffer from trade wars
The National Corn Growers Association and the American Soybean Association found a tariff-induced trade war with China would “hurt” U.S. farmers, based on a jointly released study that pulled from 2018 tariffs data and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s economic plans. Worse-case scenario figures in the study show that soybean exports to China would have […]
JaNaé Bates’ commitment to criminal justice reform is more than just talk
When JaNaé Bates, a minister and co-director of the influential progressive religious group Faith in Minnesota, told me a couple years ago that she married a man who is in prison, my thought was this: Jesus instructed us to visit the imprisoned, but he didn’t say have to marry them. She understands this response. A […]
Wages are rising twice as fast as inflation — and other labor news
Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round-up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: Workers’ paychecks are increasing much faster than prices; 62,000 Minnesotans work in green(er) energy; U of M and graduate student union at impasse; fair pay icon Lilly Ledbetter dies; and Home Depot execs must work retail […]
Minnesota cities tap utility fees to help fund local clean energy and climate action
More Minnesota cities are turning to utility customers to fund climate and sustainability projects. The Twin Cities suburb of Eagan is among the latest municipalities to begin collecting what’s known as a “franchise fee” from gas and electric companies in exchange for allowing pipelines, power lines and other infrastructure in public rights-of-way. The charges are […]
ACLU representing Fargo woman charged in bong water case
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is providing legal representation to Jessica Beske, a Fargo woman facing decades in prison and a potential $1 million fine over bong water allegedly found in her possession in a case that has raised questions about uneven enforcement of the state’s drug laws. “We’re pretty broadly interested in […]
Minneapolis Public Schools latest financial projections show emerging crisis
Reprinted with permission from Minneapolis Schools Voices. Minneapolis Public Schools will use the last of its reserves and then some during next school year if it does not make substantial budget cuts or receive additional state or federal revenue. This is according to the district’s most recent pro forma, a five year financial projection that […]
Social Security and Medicare: Where do Harris and Trump stand?
This is one in a series of States Newsroom reports on the major policy issues in the presidential race. WASHINGTON — The presidential debate in early September included just one mention of Social Security and three references to Medicare, making the safety net programs a minuscule part of the policy discussion, despite their importance to […]
Lesson from the attack on St. Anne’s: It’s time to build community
Since I started speaking out about the attack on our family shelter, St. Anne’s Place, and the police’s substandard response, much of the conversation has naturally turned to policing. But that’s not the conversation I think we should be having. The tragic attack on St. Anne’s Place should not be reduced to an argument about […]
Harris campaign stresses ‘the threat that Donald Trump is to Latino communities’
WASHINGTON —Top advisers to the Kamala Harris presidential campaign held a Wednesday press conference including children who were separated from their parents under the highly criticized Trump administration immigration policy, as a warning of what a second term under the former president could bring for the Latino community. The press conference in Doral, Florida, came […]
Same-day lending apps squeeze low-income Minnesotans
Popular apps that provide cash advances for working people are trapping Minnesotans in a cycle of borrowing and repayment and increasing the rate of bank overdraft fees, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsible Lending. The companies say they allow workers to borrow money they’ve earned but haven’t received yet, arguing that their […]
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