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Olson: Minnesota Republicans' waste, fraud and abuse committee gets stuck in the mud

There’s little confidence this panel will help overwhelmed county employees and cut red tape, both of which would combat fraud.
AuthoredRochelle Olson
July 10, 2025
Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, speaks during a news conference by House GOP leaders at the State Capitol in St. Paul on Jan. 6.

Columnists

Rash: An ‘unimaginable tragedy’ for Texas — and the country

Grief, and an eventual investigation, will follow flash floods that took at least 109 lives.
AuthoredJohn Rash
July 8, 2025
Volunteers in a search and rescue operation along the Guadalupe River in Ingram, Texas, on Monday morning. Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian summer camp hit by the catastrophic flooding in Central Texas, confirmed on Monday that at least 27 campers and counselors had died, calling the disaster an "unimaginable tragedy."

Columnists

Burcum: Medicaid cuts in ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ will hit Minnesota nursing homes hard

Unprecedented cuts target a program relied on by many families to pay for long-term care.
AuthoredJill Burcum
July 7, 2025
Alice Tolzmann's nails are freshly painted as she rides with her daughter Elizabeth Radichel to watch her grand daughter Christina Radichel in a tennis match Thursday, Sept. 29, 2017, in Golden Valley, MN.

Columnists

Brown: Stop and smell the corpse flower

As our lives get busier, let’s not hustle art and nature.
AuthoredAaron Brown
July 7, 2025

Columnists

Olson: Erin Murphy wades through grief with lessons learned from Melissa Hortman

The Senate majority leader says Minnesota can’t ignore the shooter’s intentions in targeting legislators.
AuthoredRochelle Olson
July 6, 2025

Columnists

Burcum: I’m haunted by the Minnesota shooter’s uncanny police impersonation

Will any of us ever respond to a middle-of-night door knock the same way again? Probably not.
AuthoredJill Burcum
July 5, 2025

Columnists

Olson’s Cheers & Jeers: Massive dinner party on Nicollet Mall to span 7 blocks, feed 2,000

Plus: Illegal backyard fireworks, access to water, Xcel Energy Center name change and more.
AuthoredRochelle Olson
July 3, 2025
Dinner du Nord example table is set with fine dining, fried chicken and more as organizers announced the Minneapolis event.

Columnists

Rash: 20,000 kids have been abducted from Ukraine. These Midwest senators want to find them.

“The mass kidnapping of Ukrainian children is an atrocity,” said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
AuthoredJohn Rash
July 2, 2025
A woman prays at a makeshift memorial in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, on April 6, 2025, where a Russian strike on Friday killed 19 people, including nine children. A Russian missile strike near a playground in central Ukraine killed 19 people, including nine children. The attack was a painful reminder that a cease-fire remains as distant as ever.

Columnists

Brown: Trump’s Medicaid cuts will close rural hospitals, accelerate health care crisis in Minnesota

Why would the people who represent rural places consciously make their already fragile health care systems worse?
AuthoredAaron Brown
June 30, 2025
The empty hallway of Fulton Medical Center

Columnists

Banks: Why I write, how I edit — a reintroduction

A commentary editor’s thoughts on interpreting a messy world, including advice about submissions.
AuthoredDavid Banks
June 30, 2025

Columnists

Brown: For rural patients, the mental health system can’t keep up with the crisis

The longer people must wait for care, the greater the danger.
AuthoredAaron Brown
June 29, 2025

Columnists

Olson: Moriarty’s 'me-first' approach to Minnesota assassination prosecutions is another misstep

Hennepin County attorney should defer to feds, who say they will go first.
AuthoredRochelle Olson
June 28, 2025
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty speaks during a news conference on Jan. 3, 2024, at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis.
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