#MinnPost

Hennepin Healthcare could lose $1.5 billion due to Medicaid cuts - MinnPost Plus, Halloween forecast; new Capitol security position focused on threats to elected officials; Walz ordering audit of DHS Medicaid billing.

4 months ago

Hennepin Healthcare could lose up to $1.5B due to proposed #Medicaid cuts. Source: #MinnPost

https://f.mtr.cool/mhjutrvuyf

#AccessPress #Minnesota #HealthcareAccess #HennepinHealthcare

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Brownian_motion

@brownian-motion.mastodon.scot.ap.brid.gy

4 months ago

Too many of us are missing the benefits of a good, long walk ## Minnesota news you can count on. From local stories to explanations on the state or federal government, MinnPost’s independent news is available for free with no paywall. **Help us keep it this way with a tax-deductible donation today.** DONATE NOW **Cityscape** | Twin Cities urban geographer Bill Lindeke weighs in on city life, transportation, planning and more in his column delivered to your inbox weekly. Sign up A while ago, I was numbly scrolling through Facebook when I came across a comment that annoyed me. Someone had written this in my local Frogtown Facebook group: > “When you’re sitting in that long line of traffic on Dale Street just remember it used to be two lanes. It’s almost like the city planners have no common sense but at least there’s a bike lane. [clown emoji][poop emoji]” This, to me, is a red cape to a bull. The Dale Street road diet that provoked the commenter’s rant had been enacted earlier this year, changing the arterial road from four to three lanes. The change was a long time coming, one I’d been following closely having lived near Dale Street for almost 20 years. A decade ago, a single Ramsey County Board member had repeatedly killed traffic calming measures on Dale. It wasn’t until her ouster in 2018 that the possibility of change dawned. ### **_Related: New Lyndale Avenue reconstruction plan foregoes separate bike lane, fails the test for non-motorized users_** Dale Street was one of many remnant four-lane undivided arterials — what I call “four-lane death roads” — notorious street designs that create large speed differentials and dangerous weaving. These predictably deadly designs have persisted in our cities for generations, as traffic engineers are fond of them because they improve the “level of service” at intersections. The change to Dale Street is an obvious safety improvement backed by countless studies, but instead of the public conversation centering on traffic safety for drivers and neighbors, everyone seems to be talking about bike lanes instead. This is a phenomenon that I call the “bike lane fig leaf,” where culture war rants about bike lanes cover up more meaningful discussions about vehicle safety. In the Dale Street case, the bike lanes soak up Facebook outrage from drivers, though the main reason for the new design is that the street had been extremely dangerous. Today’s bike lane is almost an afterthought, a marginal five feet that isn’t really up to contemporary “protected” standards. ## _Latest from Cityscape_ ### Too many of us are missing the benefits of a good, long walk ### Minnesota’s riverfront cities can learn a lot from Stillwater ### ‘Eyes on the street’ is only one part of the urban crime solution ### Rondo Avenue bike lanes You’ll find the most extreme example of this fig leaf phenomenon in another recent St. Paul project. As part of a regular mill and overlay repaving, city engineers painted wide “buffered” bike lanes along Rondo and Concordia avenues just south of Interstate 94 through St. Paul. The result is another traffic calming change to one of the city’s most dangerous streets in the city’s most famous historically Black neighborhood. Before the new design, Rondo/Concordia had been a two-lane, one-way road running directly past people’s front yards. Years ago, one neighbor took a radar gun and clocked people at speeds as high as 57 miles per hour in front of their house. Today, along what was once a _de facto_ frontage road with drivers escaping traffic, there’s a wide space striped for bicycles where the extra driving lane used to be. The Rondo Avenue bike lane has little to do with bicycling, but is rather about safety improvements for a roadway that has been dangerous for generations, with drivers barreling into crosswalks at high speeds. Credit: Bill Lindeke It’s another long overdue safety improvement, but to me it’s unfortunate that the bicycle facility is masking the engineering logic that’s at work. The city isn’t much help in clarifying what’s going on here, either. According to Lisa Hiebert, a spokesperson from St. Paul Public Works: “The St. Anthony/Rondo project is a good example of how St. Paul leverages planned street maintenance projects to make additional traffic calming, pedestrian and multimodal improvements where possible.” That’s a lot of vague words that mask the underlying reality: the new design is overwhelmingly a traffic calming safety improvement, while the bike lane itself is almost unusable. Every half mile, the buffered bike lane disappears into tiny strips of green paint as it crosses wildly dangerous I-94 on-ramps. Theoretically, cyclists would have to make their way through these chaotic turn-lane intersections with cars flying by on their way to I-94. That’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and if I ever see a cyclist using this new bike lane, I’ll be surprised. Unofficially, though, the “bike lane” is a great idea if you judge it solely as a traffic calming project. The change reduces speeding, speed differentials and lane changes and will likely save lives. In a sense, the “bike lane” here is a cheaper, faster solution to a larger engineering problem. It would have been more honest if the city had simply installed Jersey barriers or bollards, and used the space for literally anything else: a hydrangea garden, storage for impound vehicles, or a sculpture garden. Instead of the unusable bike lane, the city could put up signs saying, “This Infrastructure Change Made For Critical Safety Reasons.” ### **_Related: Has Minneapolis spent billions of dollars on bike lanes?_** This same “fig leaf” principle applies for many more urban street design efforts, where cyclists get blamed (or, more rarely, praised) as the focal point around larger, more nuanced safety improvements. The most high-profile example is the seemingly interminable Summit Avenue Regional Trail saga, almost always framed by the media as a “bike lane” project. In fact, it’s a dispute over infrastructure timing, and the bike lane portion of the project is almost a marginal cost, a small adjustment within a needed, expensive street reconstruction project. My suspicion about why this happens is that it’s easier for most people to argue about whether you can bike in November in Minneapolis than deal with the actual problems with an automobile-dominated city. Every news outlet has a file photo of a bicyclist speeding down a street ready to go. Rather than think about more complex problems like speeding, crosswalks or the increasing expense of street infrastructure, it’s easier to make jokes about spandex. Bicycles end up serving as convenient fig leaves for other real problems around making our city streets safer for our kids, elders and neighbors. That’s my theory, anyway. At any rate, I should stop commenting on Facebook. **Support local news this fall! 🍂** As a nonprofit newsroom, MinnPost needs donations from readers like you to support our work. Join 4,800 readers by donating right now. Give now ### _Related_

#MNastodon #bicycle #cycling #BikeTooter #minnpost www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2025/10/bike-l...

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Disability rights help our neighbors live and work - MinnPost Framing disability rights as “extras,” is a form of erasure. Disabled people are not a special interest group.

4 months ago

When public services for independent living are framed as optional, people with disabilities risk being erased from civic life. Supporting these programs is not special treatment — it’s part of how communities stay inclusive and resilient. Source: #MinnPost

#AccessPress #Minnesota #disabilityts

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MyPost.to

@mypost.to

4 months ago

Social media addiction: The price for getting high on likes? - MinnPost Studies show that addictive use of social media affects teens' mental health, but social media addiction isn't a recognized medical disorder.

https://get.mypost.to/JfjpWb

Studies show that the addictive use of social media has mental health consequenc

#socialmedia #teens #mentalhealth #minnpost

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MyPost2

@mypost2.flipboard.social.ap.brid.gy

4 months ago

## Minnesota news you can count on. From local stories to explanations on the state or federal government, MinnPost’s independent news is available for free with no paywall. **Help us keep it this way with a tax-deductible donation today.** DONATE NOW _This story was produced as part of_ _ThreeSixty Journalism_ _’s Multimedia Storytelling Institute for high school students in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which financially sponsors the camp and supports story sourcing._ _Additional reporting by Maxwell Freeman (Rosemount High School) and Wendy Xiong (Johnson High School)_. Most teenagers have 24/7 access to a popular drug. They are high off it for hours a day and carry it in their pockets everywhere they go. The drug? Social media. From calls to getting directions, technology has been ingrained into everyday life. According to a Pew Research Center study, 95% of U.S. teens have access to a smartphone and 97% say they use social media daily. Linna Xiong, a high school senior who lives in St. Paul, says she spends three hours a day scrolling on social media. “We’re currently in the summer right now, so I’m very bored and I have nothing to do,” Xiong said. “I tend to be on social media a lot.” Ongoing research has linked heavy social media use with health issues. In 2023, the U.S. surgeon general released a public advisory about social media’s harms on youth mental health, noting that teens who use social media more than three hours a day are twice as likely to have poor mental health. U.S. teens spend, on average, 4.8 hours on social media a day. Forty-one percent of the teens who spent the most time on social media rated their overall mental health as poor. ### **_Related: Studies highlight impact of social media use on college student mental health_** According to a 2025 study by researchers at Cornell University and Columbia University, 40% of children that they followed showed addictive use of social media that distracted from important responsibilities like school work or chores. Furthermore, addictive screen use was linked to worse mental health and suicidal behavior. Teens are susceptible to the addictive qualities of social media because their brains are not fully developed, according to Joel Frederickson, a psychology professor at Bethel University. Features of social media apps, such as follows, likes and comments, keep users coming back for more. This reward system makes the brain release a lot of dopamine, similar to how substance addiction works. Video by Max Freeman, Rosemount High School and Wendy Xiong, Johnson High School / ThreeSixty Journalism “There’s a reason why Wordle has streaks; it’s to get you to go back to Wordle,” said Frederickson. He is cautious of how developers make media addictive. “You’re fighting against some of the best minds in the world, and you don’t even realize it.” Though studies have shown the adverse effects of addictive use of social media, social media addiction is not recognized as a medical disorder. “When you think of addiction, you think of something [like substance abuse]. But that’s not how it works with phones or social media. These are a part of our lives,” said Sarah Jerstad, clinical director of Psychological Services at Children’s Minnesota. “So, how do we work with it?” Within homes, schools and legislation there is a growing push for more regulations. Frederickson believes schools are going to have the largest impact in consistently regulating social media usage because that is where students spend more than half of their day. Xiong says parents have an important responsibility here. She has seen it already in her younger Gen Alpha cousins, how they stick to their tablets even at the dinner table. It irks her. “Whenever I visit, I always see them on their iPads … and they never get off it. No matter how long I stay,” Xiong said. Jerstad encourages parents to have open conversations with their children about online boundaries instead of dictating barriers, highlighting how social media can have healthy impacts. As the name suggests, it is a place for teens to socialize, connect with others, find entertainment and express themselves. However, parents will often blame social media and technology in response to their teens speaking out about their mental health and that shuts them down. “There’s the thought that adults never believe in us, by saying that we don’t understand their struggles. But … everyone goes through something differently,” Xiong said. In a 2025 national survey on the impact of social media on teen mental health, the Pew Research Center found that many parents believe social media is the primary detriment to teen mental health. While teens say the same, they are more equally divided on other factors, such as bullying and pressures and expectations. “Parents might be minimizing some of [the other experiences] and have a perspective that the world of a teen is their friends and their devices,” Jerstad said. ### **_Related: A road to recovery: How one woman’s resilience paved the way for broader care in Greater Minnesota_** Xiong believes teens have mental health needs that are often overlooked. “Teenagers should also have a platform to speak on their mental health, their beliefs and have a voice,” she said. As knowledge on social media addiction grows, states are taking action. The National Conference of State Legislatures reported in 2024 that at least 40 states and Puerto Rico have introduced legislation pertaining to online content and access. Minnesota passed a law in May 2024 requiring school districts and charter schools to develop a policy on cell phone usage. Phones feel integral to our lives. Xiong remembers when they were not. “When I didn’t have a phone, I was always outside. Everything was colorful and bright,” she said. “Nowadays, I don’t see that anymore.” _This story was produced as part of_ _ThreeSixty Journalism_ _’s Multimedia Storytelling Institute for high school students in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, which financially sponsors the camp and supports story sourcing._ **Support local news this fall! 🍂** As a nonprofit newsroom, MinnPost needs donations from readers like you to support our work. Join 4,800 readers by donating right now. Give now ### _Related_

https://get.mypost.to/JfjpWb
Studies show that the addictive use of social media has mental health consequenc
#socialmedia #teens #mentalhealth #minnpost

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Shutdown Blog: The latest on the government shutdown and its impact on Minnesota Updates on the federal government shutdown and its impact on Minnesota by D.C. correspondent Ana Radelat, data journalist Shadi Bushra and other MinnPost contributors.

5 months ago

The federal government is in shutdown, causing sweeping furloughs and service disruptions. Minnesota is seeing impacts in areas such as national parks, federal programs, and administrative offices. Source: #MinnPost

#AccessPress #Minnesota #GovernmentShutdown #PublicServices #FederalFunding

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Unionizing ASL interpreters need the support of Minnesota officials - MinnPost State investment board should use its stake in the parent company of the major employer of Video Relay Service interpreters to boost union effort.

5 months ago

#MinnPost reports that sign language interpreters in #Minnesota are seeking to unionize and are calling for support from state officials.

#AccessPress #Unions #SignLanguage #Interpreters

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Disinvestment is a wakeup call for the disabled and their advocates Cuts to Medicaid called for in July's federal legislation will likely mean fewer services for disabled Minnesotans.

6 months ago

#MinnPost reports that a new federal law signed in July 2025 includes sweeping Medicaid cuts, which, according to Rod Carlson, will decimate services for people with disabilities across Minnesota.

#AccessPress #MinnPost #MN #Minnesota #DisabilityFunding #MedicaidCuts

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Decade after damning report, Minneapolis still fails special ed kids - MinnPost In 2014, one-quarter of students with disabilities in Minneapolis Public Schools were proficient in reading. Now, it's down to 21%.

7 months ago

MinnPost reports that ten years after a critical review of its special education services, Minneapolis Public Schools continues to struggle in meeting the needs of students.

#AccessPress #MinnPost #MN #Minnesota #Minneapolis #Education

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Minnesota’s adult foster care homes will disappear if we don't act These homes are some of the most cost-effective ways to care for adult disabled populations Minnesota, a foster home owner writes.

7 months ago

MinnPost reports that Minnesota’s adult foster care system is facing collapse due to staffing shortages, low wages, and a lack of legislative action. Providers warn that without urgent solutions, vulnerable adults could be displaced from the homes they rely on for daily care.

#AccessPress #MinnPost

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Human Services delays leave Minnesotans with disabilities in limbo DHS's failure to follow its own rules and meet timelines is not only a policy lapse — it's a civil rights crisis for those with disabilities.

7 months ago

#MinnPost reports that delays by the Department of Human Services have left many Minnesotans with disabilities unable to access critical support services. The department cites staffing shortages and system issues as reasons for the backlog affecting vulnerable residents.

#AccessPress #MN #Minnesota

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How Medicaid cuts threaten disabled Minnesotans - MinnPost An estimated 6 million Americans rely on Medicaid for long-term care, and the cost of their care is much higher than that of other enrollees.

8 months ago

MinnPost reports that proposed Medicaid cuts in MN could significantly reduce essential services for people with disabilities, impacting their health and independence.

#AccessPress #MinnPost #MN #Minnesota #MedicaidCuts #DisabilityServices

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Legislature moves to curb nursing home and disability payments The Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz say they have hit upon a deal to fund the Department of Human Services for the next two years.

9 months ago

MinnPost reports that Minnesota's Legislature and Governor Tim Walz have agreed on a Human Services budget that reduces Department of Human Services spending by $272 million over the next two years.

#AccessPress #MinnPost #MN #Minnesota #HumanServices #Medicaid

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Five years post-COVID, racial disparities in health still persist There's been progress, but the future of federal funding for health care systems is in limbo, casting this progress into an uncertain future.

10 months ago

#MinnPost reports that five years after the onset of #COVID19, racial health disparities persist in #Minnesota, with #Indigenous communities experiencing higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and mortality.

#AccessPress #MinnPost #MN #Minnesota

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Minnesota Medicaid explained: health costs and what could change Medicaid helps cover health costs for roughly 1.2 million people in Minnesota, but federal cuts could mean major changes.

10 months ago

#MinnPost reports that Minnesota's #Medicaid program, known as Medical Assistance, provides health coverage to approximately 1.2 million residents, including low-income families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities.

#AccessPress #MinnPost #MN #Minnesota #Medicaid #HealthcareFunding

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Terminally ill advocate for ‘end of life’ legislation in Minnesota The American Medical Association says “physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer.”

10 months ago

#MinnPost reports that terminally ill Minnesotans are urging lawmakers to pass end-of-life options legislation that would allow patients to request medical aid in dying. Supporters argue the bill provides autonomy for those facing unbearable suffering.

#AccessPress #MN #Minnesota #EndOfLife

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Health grant cuts upended research, services in Minnesota A lawsuit by attorneys general has unfrozen some grant money temporarily, but medical research and services are expected to suffer.

10 months ago

#MinnPost reports that federal health grant cuts disrupt medical research and behavioral health services in #Minnesota. The U of M and state agencies have lost millions in funding, affecting studies on vaccine hesitancy, health disparities, and addiction treatment programs.

#AccessPress #MinnPost

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Treatment leaders ask Minnesota to boost Medicaid reimbursement Bills before the Minnesota Legislature seek increases in Medicaid reimbursements for mental health and substance abuse treatment.

11 months ago

#MinnPost reports that #Minnesota treatment leaders are urging lawmakers to increase #Medicaid reimbursement rates to prevent the closure of mental health and substance use disorder programs.

#AccessPress #MinnPost #MedicaidReimbursement #MentalHealthFunding #MN #Minnesota

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How can the nonprofit sector stay true to its values? Nonprofits that support our neighbors and friends are facing unimaginable challenges and uncertainty, including the loss of funding.

11 months ago

A MinnPost article by Nonoko Sato, Executive Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, discusses the challenges nonprofits face in maintaining their core values amid funding uncertainties and political pressures.

buff.ly/e55uO77

#AccessPress #MinnPost #CommunityEngagement #Minnesota

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Cuts made to Minnesota’s Vocational Rehabilitation program DEED is looking at voluntary layoffs and early retirement incentives for employees who provide Vocational Rehabilitation Services.

11 months ago

#MinnPost reports that Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development plans to cut staff in the Vocational Rehabilitation program through voluntary layoffs and early retirement incentives.

buff.ly/VR6UQlY

#AccessPress #Minnesota #DisabilityServices #VocationalRehabilitation

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St. Cloud St. student ‘person of interest’ in Sudiksha Konanki case A St. Cloud State University student is a ‘person of interest’ in Sudiksha Konanki's case, last seen on a beach in the Dominican Republic.

1 year ago

St. Cloud St. student a ‘person of interest’ in Sudiksha Konanki disappearance
<figure><img width="940" height="529" src="www.minnpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/...

#MinnPost

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How Transit App is removing the mysteries of Twin Cities transit use The Metro Transit “user experience” is improving, especially for those who keep up with technology like mobile apps.

1 year ago

Removing the mysteries of Twin Cities transit use with Transit App
<figure><img width="816" height="512" src="www.minnpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/...

#MinnPost

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Cecilia Johnson went from writing about artists to booking them Cecilia Johnson, a former writer for The Current, books acts at Berlin, a North Loop jazz/electronic music venue.

1 year ago

Award-winning music journalist Cecilia Johnson transitions from writing about artists to booking them
<figure><img width="940" height="643" src="www.minnpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/...

#MinnPost

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Help MinnPost spring ahead in 2025 The critical reporting we do at MinnPost takes resources, which is why we rely on reader support through membership drives.

1 year ago

Help us spring ahead in 2025
<figure><img width="940" height="600" src="www.minnpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/...

#MinnPost

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Noticias de Bizkaia

@bizkaianews.bsky.social

1 year ago

Apple Says To Invest $500 Bn In US As Trump Tariffs Bite
Apple said on Monday it will spend more than $500 billion in the United States over the next four ye

#MinnPost

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Wolves rookies show veteran poise in comeback win vs. OKC The Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from 22 points down in the fourth against the west best Oklahoma City Thunder thanks to three rookies.

1 year ago

Wolves rookies show veteran poise in improbable comeback win versus OKC
<figure><img width="940" height="594" src="www.minnpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/...

#MinnPost

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St. Paul rejects White House callout over lack of ICE cooperation President Donald Trump’s administration accused St. Paul, sanctuary cities of allowing crime through their lack of cooperation with ICE.

1 year ago

St. Paul officials respond to White House callout over lack of ICE cooperation
<figure><img width="640" height="428" src="www.minnpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/...

#MinnPost

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