In the Strib Christopher Snowbeck says, “HMO profits from state government programs more than doubled last year to about $675.8 million, a Star Tribune analysis shows, partly because enrollees required fewer health care services than expected. The jump in operating income continued a pandemic trend of growing HMO profitability across the country due to historic enrollment expansion. Membership surged after states halted Medicaid eligibility re-determinations during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Last year’s margins in Minnesota were unusually high, however, and driven by a 10% increase in per-person revenue to the HMOs while per-person expenses grew just 4.5%. ”
Fox 9’s Jared Goyette reports, “For the first time since the University of Minnesota was founded more than 150 years ago, women make up the majority of its governing board. The Minnesota House and Senate met in a joint session Monday to elect four members to the Board of Regents. Three of the members chosen were women, making for a total of eight women and four men on the board … The legislature elected AFL-CIO Vice Present Robyn Gulley for the second congressional district, Minnesota Nurses Association president Mary Turner for the third, and former Allina C.E.O. Dr. Penny Wheeler for the at-large position. Tribal attorney Tadd Johnson was re-elected for the eighth.”
At KSTP-TV, Joe Mazan reports, “A piece of Minneapolis history will soon be up for sale. Fifteen-foot signs featuring rock stars that hung decades ago above a downtown Minneapolis music store are going up for auction. Mitch DeMars at Crosstown Sign in Ham Lake created signs of John Lennon, Janis Joplin, Bob Marley and Roy Orbison. Demars is now retiring and selling off the signs.”
For MPR, Max Sparber says, “It’s been a bad few years for Twin Cities music festivals, but a newly announced summer event is stepping up to fill the gap. With the Basilica Block Party on indpefinite hiatus and other festivals — including Rock the Garden and Twin Cities Summer Jam — shutting down for good, the Twin Cities music scene has been anticipating a relatively quiet summer in terms of live music. But on Monday, Target Field announced plans for a new music festival, called TC Summer Fest, scheduled to take place July 14-15 at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. The event will be hosted by the Minnesota Twins and 555 Events.
At MPR Grace Birnstengel reports, “Minnesota may soon become the 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana. The state House and Senate both approved different versions of the bill last week. If they can reach agreement on a singular bill, it’ll head next to Gov. Tim Walz, who has already shared his support. A key part of this legislation is how it would affect people with marijuana records whose crimes would no longer be considered crimes. Like in other states that have already fully legalized weed, Minnesota lawmakers are proposing ways for people to get marijuana offenses cleared.”
And at KMSP-TV Nathan O’Neal says, “To truly understand the state of the market, the FOX 9 Investigators conducted undercover site visits to Twin City area shops that sell low-level hemp-derived THC products. None of the businesses are required to have a license to sell THC edibles and each piece is legally only supposed to contain up to 5 mg of THC. … The original packaging for Samples ‘A’ and ‘D’ both advertised 5 mg of THC per piece, which is the max allowed by state law. The lab test confirmed both samples were pretty close to hitting that mark. However, the remaining three samples did not contain the levels claimed on the packaging. In fact, Sample ‘E’ was the worst offender – with THC levels measuring more than six times what is supposed to be legally allowed, with 32 mg of THC per piece.”
Also at MPR, staff report, “The owner of Afro Deli & Grill restaurants, Abdirahman Kahin, was named the national small business owner of the year by the Biden-Harris Administration Monday. Kahin, a native of the east-African nation Djibouti, started with one restaurant near the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus and now has four establishments in the Twin Cities.”
A WCCO-TV story says, “If your NEXT Drive takes you through the south metro, heads up that the Minnesota Department of Transportation is starting construction on Interstate 35W in Bloomington Monday. MnDOT said they’re resurfacing the road, fixing ramps and adding lanes between west 98th and 106th streets. As that work begins, take the detour on Interstate 35E to Highway 77 to Interstate 494.”
CBC News reports, “Canadian folk music icon Gordon Lightfoot, whose evocative and poetic songs are etched into the musical landscape of Canada, has died at the age of 84, according to his longtime publicist Victoria Lord … Born in Orillia, Ont., Lightfoot was hailed as Canada’s folk troubadour for his soulful music and stirring lyrics. In songs such as The Canadian Railroad Trilogy and The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, he explored the country’s history, geography and culture.”
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