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North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live is a daily, five-minute newscast that shines a spotlight on the stories and perspectives of Minnesota’s diverse communities, including Black, Latine, Asian American, East African individuals, people living with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ residents, laborers, veterans, and those from Greater Minnesota.
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live. Today in Minnesota…
ANCHOR: … Federal cuts force a Minnesota health insurance company to drop coverage for about 90-thousand Minnesotans. Then, students and families react to tuition increases at the University of Minnesota. And an update on the Minnesota Senator shot and critically injured in what authorities called a targeted political attack.
I'm Chantel SinGs.
UCare, which markets itself as a leader for Medicaid coverage in Minnesota, is going to stop offering Medicaid and MinnesotaCare coverage in eleven counties, at least temporarily. Medicaid is a government-funded health insurance plan for low-income individuals and families. The health insurance company says it's working with the state and counties to help the roughly 88 thousand Minnesotans who will be impacted by the change. UCare will continue to offer Medicaid and MinnesotaCare plans in 44 Minnesota counties. Plans for seniors and people with disabilities are not impacted by the cuts.
Next, the University of Minnesota has approved a multibillion-dollar budget that includes a sharp tuition increase. Katharine DeCelle tells us what it means for students and their families.
Doug Huebsch: The hardest thing a board has to do any elected board is pass a budget. Nobody is going to be 100% happy with this budget. And that's part of being an elected official, and that's what we have to do.
Katharine DeCelle: That's Doug Huebsch, a member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, talking at last month's meeting where the university approved a $5.1 billion operating budget, which includes its largest tuition hike in more than a decade. The announcement came just months before students are to begin classes in the fall. Liam Donahoe, an upcoming freshman, was excited that he got into the University of Minnesota, his first-choice school.
Liam Donahoe: Both my parents went there, and I know a lot of buddies were going there too. But it's close to home. It's convenient.
Katharine DeCelle: For university students, this fall in-state undergraduate and graduate tuition at the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses will rise by 6.5%. For Liam, this means he will pay over $2,000 more in tuition, which leaves him and students like him scrambling to find ways to pay tuition.
Liam Donahoe: I was going to be working either way, but now I really got to go probably full time. I'm going to be able to afford college.
Katharine DeCelle: According to the University of Minnesota admissions department, 75% of students have jobs.
Liam Donahoe: I was thinking of working up at UPS, because they do for college students, they pay off about five grand every semester when you work a set amount of hours.
Katharine DeCelle: To offset costs, Liam says he also looked into working at the university, but that it is not ideal for his school schedule. Liam's mom, Sara Elms--
Sara Elms: Liam doesn't qualify for any financial aid. All he got qualified for was just loans at a lower interest rate, federal loans, $5,500 a semester. But it's still money he has to pay back. So it's basically all on him.
Katharine DeCelle: Sara went to the University of Minnesota in the early 2000s and didn't worry about how she was going to pay for her tuition.
Sara Elms: It was like six grand a semester. I was granted more than that per semester because I was a student parent. So paying for college was like a manageable loan that never was overwhelming.
Katharine DeCelle: Sara says she paid a fraction of the price of tuition that Liam will be paying.
Sara Elms: I think about Liam, and one year for him was like my whole college career, 36 grand for the year. So it's about 18,000 per semester.
Katharine DeCelle: University President Rebecca Cunningham--
Rebecca Cunningham: We can all agree there are no easy choices this year. As I stated last week, higher education is truly facing unprecedented challenges. The University of Minnesota is not immune, and therefore we have to make difficult decisions.
Katharine DeCelle: The university president went on to defend the tuition increase, pointing to a $40 million loss in federal funding combined with no increase in state support. For North Star Stories, I'm Katharine DeCelle.
ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.
Minnesota Senator John Hoffman is out of the hospital and recovering at a long-term rehabilitation facility. A spokesperson for the Hoffman family said the Senator and his wife Yvette both have a long road to recovery ahead of them. A gunman, disguised as a police officer, shot Senator Hoffman and his wife multiple times before their daughter Hope could call 9-1-1. Police say after shooting the Hoffmans the gunman went on to shoot and kill Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband. Vance Boelter, the suspected gunman, faces multiple state and federal charges, including murder.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.