Politics

Tuition Costs Rising, Student Share Concerns

Submitted by Chris Kuball, Storm Tracker 6 Meteorologist

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012, 7:22am

Tuition Costs Rising, Student Share Concerns

     Minnesota college students share concerns about the rising cost of tuition.
     A group met Monday with Governor Dayton, Senator Al Franken, the President of Riverland Community College and the President of the University of Minnesota with their concerns.
     A recent study found Minnesota college students have an average loan debt of $29,000.
     That's the fourth highest in the US.
     We talked with students at Riverland Community College in Austin, a place many turn to to save money.
     But even tuition there has gone up.
"Part of that is due to our state appropriations being decreased. The state appropriation went down about 11 percent this year," says Brad Doss, CFO, Riverland Community College.
Sophomore Miguel Cisneros says, "I have a part-time job and I kind of get paid just the right amount for every semester."

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Fireworks Bill Introduced in State House

Submitted by Dan Jones on Tuesday, April 3rd, 10:09 pm

Hungry for mor bang during this year's Independence Day?

New legislation could allow you to have a bigger light show.

The Minnesota House plans to vote on a bill that would legalize at home fireworks including aerial ones.

Supporters say people are using them anyway, traveling across the border to Wisconsin where they are legal to purchase them.

Those against the bill say those high powered fireworks are too dangerous.

A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate.

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GLCS To Join Coalition Against Marriage Amendment

Submitted by Ben Bicknese on Tuesday, February 28th, 5:02 pm

Rochester, MN – February 28, 2012 – Gay Lesbian Community Services of Southeast Minnesota
(GLCS) is formally joining the Minnesotans United for all Families coalition today at the GLCS
annual meeting. The GLCS annual meeting will take place in the Rochester Civic Theatre lobby
from 5:00pm to 6:15pm.

A representative from Minnesotans United for all Families will be in attendance to announce the
addition of GLCS to their coalition and discuss methods of organizing in southeast Minnesota
against the proposed constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage in our state. The
Minnesotans United for All Families coalition is comprised of over 170 political, religious,
business, and nonprofit organizations which oppose this amendment.

At the annual meeting GLCS will also announce new efforts by their organization to better serve
the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) population of southeast Minnesota. The

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Senate Republicans OK Two Abortion Measures

Submitted by Dan Jones on Monday, February 27th, 10:28 pm

A move by Minnesota Senate Republicans to strengthen abortion laws is already drawing sharp criticism.

A Senate panel gave the go ahead to two measures the first new licensing and inspections for clinics that performs ten or more abortions a month.

The second aimed at so called "webcam abortions."

It would require a doctor to be physically present when certain abortion inducing drugs are administered right now some do it via video conference.

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Pawlenty: No V.P. Interest

Submitted by Dan Jones on Friday, February 24th, 10:03 pm

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty says he has no interest in becoming Mitt Romney's running mate.

In an interview Friday, Pawlenty says he's been down that road before with Sen. John Mccain and Romney will have a lot of great people to pick from.

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Legislation to Deter Teen Smoking

Submitted by Phenda Varnie on Monday, February 13th, 12:31 pm

Information from Sen. Carla Nelson's Office

Rochester- Senator Carla Nelson (R-Rochester) and Representative Mike Benson (R-Rochester) announced Monday legislation that would increase the price of cigarettes by $1.29 to deter teen smoking. The bill will direct revenue to be used to repay the debt of the 2011 education shift and lower the tax burden on job creators statewide.

Senator Nelson and Representative Benson were joined Monday at Hope Lodge in Rochester by Dr. Raymond Gibbons of the Mayo Clinic, Scott Heck, Chair-Elect of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce and Michael Muñoz, Superintendent of Rochester Public Schools.

“This bill will help reduce the number of teenage smokers in the State of Minnesota,” said Representative Benson. “Not only will the revenue collected help reduce expenses in other areas of state government, but it will also lead to fewer people who start smoking and give more smokers the reason they need to quit.”

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Minnesota Sues Accretive Health for Patient Privacy Violations

Submitted by Mike Schram on Thursday, January 19th, 1:28 pm

Information from the Office of Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson:

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson today filed a lawsuit against Accretive Health, Inc., a debt collection agency that is part of a New York private equity fund conglomerate, for failing to protect the confidentiality of patient health care records and not disclosing to patients its extensive involvement in their health care through its role in managing the revenue and health care delivery systems at two Minnesota hospital systems.

Last July, Accretive lost a laptop computer containing unencrypted health data about 23,500 patients in Minnesota. The lawsuit alleges that Accretive gained access to sensitive patient data through contracts with the hospitals and numerically scored patients’ risk of hospitalization and medical complexity, graded their “frailty,” compiled per-patient profit and loss reports, and identified patients deemed to be “outliers.”

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