| | The Daily Digest for August 14, 2019 | | Posted at 6:20 a.m. by Mike Mulcahy |
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Good morning, and happy Wednesday. Here's the Digest. 1. Hearing yields little new information about problems at DHS. Minnesota lawmakers spent more than three hours on Tuesday revisiting a string of recent issues within the Department of Human Services, from handling of whistleblowers and investigations of fraud to millions in overpayments for substance abuse treatment. “This is not a witch hunt, this is not a rodeo, this is not a gotcha thing,” Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, said at the hearing. “This is us doing our due diligence.” But lawmakers seeking answers about what’s going on inside the massive agency were left wanting more. Many of the people asked to testify -- including former DHS Commissioner Tony Lourey and his chief of staff, who resigned unexpectedly last month -- did not attend the hearing. Neither did two DHS deputy commissioners, Chuck Johnson and Claire Wilson, who submitted their resignations last month but then rescinded them when Lourey resigned. The administration hasn’t provided an explanation for the sudden shuffles, but Senate Republicans, who called the hearing, asked Acting DHS Commissioner Pam Wheelock if Lourey was forced out because he pushed for change within the massive agency. “I have not found any issue about impropriety,” Wheelock said. “I have not found any issue about any kind of criminal activity. There is no scandal. There is no chaos.” Lawmakers were frustrated that the hearing didn’t yield more concrete answers, and said they would hold more hearings soon. ( MPR News)
2. Lung disease cases linked to vaping . Four cases of severe lung disease in the Twin Cities are being linked to vaping and e-cigarette use, prompting state health officials to warn the public about the harms of these products and to advise doctors to be on the lookout. The Minnesota Department of Health issued a warning Tuesday after receiving four case reports last week from Children’s Minnesota involving teens and young adults. The patients who suffered the illnesses all were hospitalized for more than one week, with some being admitted to intensive care. While state health authorities have long issued warnings about vaping because of some of the contaminants in e-cigarette cartridges and products, this is the first time they have issued a public notice directly linking the use of these products to specific patient illnesses. The illnesses appear to match lung disease cases reported in Wisconsin and Illinois, but state health authorities said they are still exploring the link to vaping in general, and to the cases in other states. “There are still many unanswered questions, but the health harms emerging from the current epidemic of youth vaping in Minnesota continue to increase,” said Dr. Ruth Lynfield, state epidemiologist and MDH medical director. “We are encouraging providers and parents to be on the lookout for vaping as a cause for unexplained breathing problems and lung injury and disease.” ( Star Tribune)
3. Work on energy legislation behind the scenes. Despite meeting a renewable energy standard passed a dozen years ago, some Minnesota elected officials from both parties are trying to figure out how to do more to cut emissions that contribute to climate change. The Legislature went home earlier this year without passing any significant energy initiatives, but the work hasn't stopped. Working behind the scenes, some lawmakers hope to pass legislation next year to both address climate change and spark innovation in clean energy technology. “Those who get in early and become the Silicon Valley of renewable energy, renewable energy research … are going to be the winners,” said Sen. Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, who was part of a delegation of about 20 lawmakers, industry leaders, state regulators and others who visited Germany last month as part of an ongoing learning exchange. Besides the delegation meetups, Senjem for the past year has been hosting monthly gatherings in the party room of his St. Paul apartment to give Republicans, Democrats and industry leaders a place to have safe conversations about Minnesota’s energy future.Attendees talk over pizza and drinks and wrap up their discussions over bowls of ice cream. “If you can’t play together, you can’t work together,” Senjem said. “You have to get to know each other to really gain the trust and the interrelationships that are necessary to make the Legislature work, no matter what the topic.” ( MPR News)
4. Brazil disaster raises concern about Minnesota mine project. In January, the tailings dam at a Brazilian iron ore mine collapsed, killing nearly 250 people. The wave of toxic waste and mud also wrecked two dozen buildings and polluted water for five miles. In Minnesota, the disaster raised eyebrows among opponents of a copper-nickel mine planned near Hoyt Lakes. That’s because the design of the dam in Brumadinho was similar to one PolyMet Mining hopes to build. In fact, the Vale mining company had used a method to judge dam safety created by a PolyMet adviser. And the tragedy in Brazil embodied the worst fears of some Minnesota environmental activists and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, who warn PolyMet could pollute the St. Louis River. Those groups, and some DFL state legislators, recently asked state regulators to reconsider authorizing PolyMet’s mining plan. “The DNR must modify the tailings … storage permit to require best practices, like dry tailings storage,” which don’t require a pond or dam, says a letter last month signed by 18 Democratic lawmakers. “Minnesota should accept nothing less after the tragic collapse of a similar tailings dam in Brazil that killed 250 people.” The state Department of Natural Resources, however, says any similarities between PolyMet and the Brumadinho dam are limited. DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen announced last week the agency would not change two critical permits granted to PolyMet last year after researching what happened in Brazil. ( MinnPost)
5. Anti-overdose medication prescriptions rise. The opioid epidemic has claimed thousands of lives across Minnesota over the last two decades, but there are some signs the situation may be improving. The number of prescriptions for a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses rose dramatically last year. Some see the increased availability of the drug naloxone as a sign that prescribers are changing their practices, and that stigma around the anti-overdose medicine may be lessening. About 50,000 people die each year in the United States of opioid overdoses. Opioids can cause death by shutting down a user’s respiratory system. Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, can reverse an opioid overdose if it’s administered in time. As recently as 2012, there were less than 1,300 naloxone prescriptions dispensed nationwide. Last year, there were more than a half-million prescriptions dispensed, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention obtained through the Associated Press. That increase is encouraging, said professor Laura Palombi, who teaches at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Palombi said doctors are beginning to see naloxone as not only acceptable to prescribe, but necessary. “When it comes to working with health professionals, one of the biggest pieces is overcoming that stigma when it comes to the myth that you're enabling use by giving somebody a life-saving drug,” Palombi said. “Stigma is our greatest barrier right now, when it comes to caring for people with substance disorders but also when it comes to naloxone.” (MPR News) | |
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