Far-reaching ban on PFAS set to become Minn. law
Minnesota lawmakers are poised to adopt tough new regulations on the use of PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” that will be the most restrictive in the nation. The legislation, expected to pass the full House and Senate soon as part of a larger environmental bill, includes a sweeping ban on the non-essential use of the […]
Beyond the ‘abortion pill’: Real-life experiences of individuals taking mifepristone
Since it was first approved for use in 2000, mifepristone has been used by millions of women to provide abortions and manage miscarriages. Gracey Zhang for NPR For a while, it was known as RU-486. It’s called Mifeprex or mifepristone – but many know it as “the abortion pill.” It is one of two drugs […]
Call to Mind: Queer Youth Resilience & Mental Health
Every day, queer teens and young adults are challenged by the politicization of gender identity and sexual orientation and the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination. And the mental health consequences are alarming. A staggering 41 percent of LGBTQ+ youth 13 through 24 report to have seriously considered suicide, and 14 percent have tried to hurt themselves, […]
Walz signs $240 million lead pipe removal bill
Minnesota lawmakers are committing hundreds of millions of dollars to get lead out of drinking water throughout Minnesota. Standing in front of the water treatment facility in St. Paul, Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill that would allocate $240 million toward removing and replacing lead pipes in homes across the state. “We’ve got the opportunity […]
Northern, central Minnesota under air quality alert until Tuesday afternoon
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued an air quality alert until 4 p.m. Tuesday covering northern and central Minnesota. The unhealthy air is due to a band of smoke from wildfires burning in Canada. The alert covers the northern half of the state, including Moorhead, Brainerd and Duluth, and as far south as Hinckley, […]
Call to Mind: Queer Youth Resilience & Mental Health
Every day, queer teens and young adults are challenged by the politicization of gender identity and sexual orientation and the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination. And the mental health consequences are alarming. A staggering 45 percent of LGBTQ+ youth 13 through 24 report to have seriously considered suicide, and 14 percent have tried to hurt themselves, […]
Life-saving or stigmatizing? Parents wrestle with obesity treatment options for kids
Janice Chang for NPR Two mothers — Jen McLellan in Albuquerque, N.M., and Grace, of Bethesda, Md. — haven’t met, but they share a common childhood trauma: Both came of age in the 1980s and ’90s feeling burdened by shame and stigma over their body size. Both tried every known diet plan and pill available […]
Minnesota legislators add hospital carve-out to nurse staffing bill
New language being considered by a legislative conference committee working on a health budget bill would exempt some hospitals from nurse staffing rules contained in the bill. If approved, health care systems like Mayo Clinic could side-step some of the major provisions of the proposed Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act, including the requirement that […]
Almost all Minnesota workers may get paid time off for family and medical leave
Paid family and medical leave is poised to become law in Minnesota. Most working Americans have access to unpaid time off for the arrival of a child or to handle their own or a family member’s illness. But three in four American civilian workers have no access to paid family leave and one in five […]
Hospitals create police forces to stem growing violence against staff
One person died and four were injured in a shooting at a medical office building in downtown Atlanta on May 3. The violence came one day after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a hospital safety act into law. Elijah Nouvelage/AFP via Getty Images When Destiny heard screams, she raced to a hospital room where she […]