A Star Tribune check-up on Minnesota's hospitals. They're actually doing a bit better, financially, in 2024, but the divide between the haves and have nots appears to be growing across the state:

One of those humbling moments when I dipped back into the topic of AI in healthcare and realized the entire landscape had shifted since my last story. @AllinaHealth @FerrumHealth

I kept mentioning Northern Exposure during reporting about a residency program that sends HCMC doctors up to Sanford Bemidji's ER. Few got the reference. I'm getting old. @sanfordhealth @HennepinHC https://t.co/tI9Ecvuf8b

Sometimes rare disease stories don't get traction with readers, but this one is hitting home today. Life with PANDAS sounds really challenging.

Workers at HCMC face dilemma of losing employer coverage of drug that has already helped them lose substantial excess weight.

It will only cost tens of thousands for this nonprofit group to retire $3.5 million in medical debts for Minnesotans. Amazing how cheaply health care providers sell off their medical debt ...

In less than 24 hours, Minnesotans responded with enough donations to resolve this woman's medical debts and allow her in all likelihood to keep her doctors. Heck of a baby shower gift for someone giving birth on Thursday.

Always appreciate the MN Senate quoting my articles -- kinda, sorta accurately -- to debate health care payment reform in the state. What lawmakers decide this session will no doubt impact small hospitals:

Embarrassing when I just find a federal dataset that's existed since June. March survey: 1 in 8 Minnesota adults have had long COVID. More than half have had COVID, too, but that's an undercount missing asymptomatic/untested infections.

Cascade of misfortune that started when @delta didn't have the crew to leave on time. The delay caused the flight to miss the good weather window -- leaving my daughter and others on the tarmac for 2 hours until MSP closed and the plane had to roll back to the gate.

Glorious @delta. You tell me to be at MSP at 5 am to reclaim my bag. So on 2 hours sleep I drag myself to baggage at 5 ... Only to be told you've changed your mind and won't complete any bag returns today. So now I get to drive my daughter to Indiana on 2 hours sleep. Not helpful

Not surprising and yet shocking at the same time -- the mental health struggles of teens following the pandemic. Results of the 2022 MN Student Survey:

MN Gov. Walz gets a variant specific COVID booster at the Capitol Friday following his initial J&J single dose at the Vikings training facility last year and then boosters at Cub in Minneapolis and St. Paul Corner Drug. He also had COVID in December 2021.

MNA Turner on nurses resolve to get better staffing: "Nurses I hate to say it, we're heading into round two." A second strike a la Allina in 2016? She wouldn't commit to that yet.

MNA prez Mary Turner alleges hospitals survived COVID understaffed and are trying to take advantage and make that permanent ... "That's the way they want to go."

Infant Kaylee pulled herself up by a picket sign at Southdale before her dad Jeff addressed media, saying inadequate hospital staffing is pulling him in to too many emergency last minute shifts and too often away from his family.

A little bagpipe interlude to the pop music on the Southdale nurse picket line. Final full day of the strike with the big question being -- what's next?

Props to new daddy Edwin Avalos for discussing care inside hospitals under strike. He didn't have to it. Nothing to gain. But he wanted his community to have a fuller understanding of the situation.

Crux of MN striking nurse argument of staffing crisis is Illinois survey showing how many burned out nurses plan to quit hospitals. Repeated at MNA presser today. Here it is:

Using Twitter as my personal story idea file: does MN have nurses in the background willing to step forward and fill open hospital positions? MNA at strike presser says so: Abbott ICU nurse Kelly Anaas pleads for pay/conditions in hospitals that lure them back to fill shortages.