Serious shortfalls at the Security Hospital

By Colleen OConnor Toberman, Minnesota 2020

Some of the hardest-to-serve Minnesotans are the 1,300 who live in state-run residential facilities. These programs provide treatment and housing for people with chemical dependencies, mental illnesses, and developmental disabilities. Last week the Office of the Legislative Auditor issued a scathing review of how the Department of Human Services (DHS) manages their residential facilities. The report noted several major shortcomings that should be of concern to all of us, since our tax dollars fund these programs and our most vulnerable citizens reside in them.

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Minnesota 2020

Lung cancer deaths spur legislation for radon testing

By Susan Hegarty, Session Daily

Radon is a radioactive gas that is odorless, tasteless and invisible. The gas is emitted into the air naturally from the soil. It can collect in high concentrations in the air in basements and is blamed for an estimated 700 lung cancer deaths each year in Minnesota, according to a nuclear physicist who testified before the House Housing Finance and Policy Committee on Wednesday.

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From soap to clothes Triclosan is everywhere. Does it pose a threat?

By Jonathan Mohr, Session Daily

University of Minnesota professors (from left) Dr. Tim LaPara, Dr. William Arnold and Dr. Daniel Engstrom answer questions on triclosan from members of the House Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee March 5

It may have been in the soap, deodorant or toothpaste you used this morning, the clothing you’re wearing now, or the kitchenware you’ll use for dinner tonight. If research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is accurate, chances are it’s in you, too.

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Governor Dayton's budget proposal, part five: Health and human services

By Christina Wessel, Minnesota Budget Bites

Many Minnesotans have seen the value of public health and human services at some point in their lives, whether it’s child care assistance that enabled a friend to keep her job, nursing home care for an elderly parent, or affordable health insurance for a cousin with a chronic illness. These and other essential services improve the health and stability of Minnesota families throughout the state.

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Minnesota Budget Bites

House passes Minnesota Insurance Marketplace bill

By Susan Hegarty, Session Daily

Just 27 days before the federal government requires a decision on whether Minnesota will move forward with a state-run health care insurance exchange, the House passed legislation Monday that would create a Minnesota Insurance Marketplace. States may choose to operate their own exchange or defer to a proposed federally-run exchange.

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Outing sexual violence disparities: New data show high rates of sexual assault in LGBT community

By Branden Largent, The Minnesota Daily

Click link for larger version.

The man was older, and she had a crush on him. They were grabbing movie rentals at Blockbuster before going to a party at his house.

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Pretty neat small town learns frac sand trucks from next county may roll right over them

By Sally Jo Sorensen, Bluestem Prairie

Minnesota's oldest Norwegian-American town, Houston County's Spring Grove, bills itself as a "pretty neat small town," and we've learned about its citiens' fondness for Norski street festivals and parades from watching a dear friend's Facebook page.

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Bluestem Prairie

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK | Health reform in Minnesota: Your stories

By Andrea Parrott, TC Daily Planet

This week Minnesota state legislators will make some major decisions on the bill for the Minnesota health exchange.

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Health exchanges: The Minnesota Insurance Marketplace's long road to House floor

By Susan Hegarty, Session Daily

Every Minnesotan will be required to have some form of health care insurance beginning Jan. 1, 2014, as a result of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed in 2010. States can operate their own health care exchange, or defer to a national exchange run by the federal government.

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Elizabeth Frost: Fighting for health care that doesn't leave you broke and naked…

By Jacob Wheeler, The Uptake

If Minnesota ever adopts a single-payer heath care system, the work of Dr. Elizabeth Frost will be remembered as one of the key reasons for its passage.

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