Jill Burcum
Editorial Columnist
HealthcareBurcum has been an editorial writer since March 2008, joining the Editorial Board after working in the newsroom as an editor and reporter. She is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for editorial writing. "Not This Mine. Not This Location," which focused on copper mining’s risk to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, was recognized in 2020. Her "Separate and Unequal" series on dilapidated Bureau of Indian Education schools was a finalist in 2015, and she also testified before Congress that same year about these schools' poor condition. Burcum graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington in 1991 and started her career as a reporter for the Rochester Post-Bulletin. She previously worked for Mayo Clinic and Ican Inc.
Latest from Jill Burcum
Burcum: Don’t rush the decision on undocumented immigrant health coverage
MinnesotaCare eligibility for undocumented immigrants is a thorny issue. Each side has reasonable arguments, and time is required to hammer out a compromise that preserves coverage and doesn’t hurt hospitals.
May 13, 2025
Burcum: Stauber sweetens sweetheart deal for Chilean mining firm
The northeast Minnesota congressman is leveraging the budget reconciliation process in an attempt to gut critical Boundary Waters copper mining protections.
May 9, 2025
Burcum: A pair of ‘big muddy boots to fill’
With Jeff Broberg’s death, Minnesota lost a passionate, principled advocate for clean water and the fragile Driftless Region.
May 2, 2025
Burcum: Running toward, not away from, the battle over vaccines
Minnesota’s Mike Osterholm is meeting a regrettable moment — the threat posed to vaccines by unqualified federal leadership — with the new Vaccine Integrity Project.
April 29, 2025
Burcum: About that so-called ‘pill penalty’
Flyers urge consumers to take action beneficial to the pharmaceutical industry. But the campaign completely misses the bigger threat to new drug development: massive research cuts.
April 27, 2025
Burcum: Cosplay Kristi preens instead of fixing a grievous error
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s prison photo op hits differently now that we know at least one prisoner is wrongly held.
April 18, 2025
Burcum: Harmful cuts risk our state’s elite disease-fighting forces
Funding alternatives are vital to avoid loss of this public health “crown jewel.” The chaotic handling of layoffs at the Minnesota Department of Health warrants legislative auditor review.
April 14, 2025
Burcum: A worthy political legacy: permanent Boundary Waters protections
Sen. Tina Smith strikes a sensible balance with a historic bill to safeguard northeast Minnesota’s fragile watery wilderness from copper mining pollution.
April 11, 2025
Burcum: About that so-called ‘pill penalty’
Flyers urge consumers to take action beneficial to the pharmaceutical industry. But the campaign completely misses the bigger threat to new drug development: massive research cuts.
April 27, 2025
Burcum: Cosplay Kristi preens instead of fixing a grievous error
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s prison photo op hits differently now that we know at least one prisoner is wrongly held.
April 18, 2025
Burcum: Harmful cuts risk our state’s elite disease-fighting forces
Funding alternatives are vital to avoid loss of this public health “crown jewel.” The chaotic handling of layoffs at the Minnesota Department of Health warrants legislative auditor review.
April 14, 2025
Burcum: A worthy political legacy: permanent Boundary Waters protections
Sen. Tina Smith strikes a sensible balance with a historic bill to safeguard northeast Minnesota’s fragile watery wilderness from copper mining pollution.
April 11, 2025