Hazardous air quality forecast for much of Minnesota Thursday as fires grow

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summer camps are closing and sending campers home

 because of wildfires raging in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness area. The YMCA’s Camp Widjiwagan and Camp du Nord, near Ely, are evacuating campers according to the camp’s Facebook post on Wednesday, even though neither site has reached “Go” status in the Ready, Set, Go wildfire evacuation protocols.

The Forest Service has closed the BWCA through at least Saturday with 17 wildfires burning in the region. Small businesses that help drive the tourism economy around the Boundary Waters are beginning to feel the strain from the canoe area's closure.

Forest Service officials say they are monitoring conditions daily to determine when the BWCA can be reopened. There are about 500 firefighters battling the fires, which are expected to burn for weeks.

State officials will keep new Medicaid provider enrollment paused in a dozen high-risk service programs for at least another six months. The Minnesota Department of Human Services is required to revalidate over 5,000 high-risk Medicaid providers as part of an agreement with the federal government’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This revalidation is part of a corrective action plan to avoid losing over $2 billion in Medicaid funding.

 over the arrest of an American citizen in St. Paul.

The U.S. Federal Reserve System released the latest edition of its survey of regional economic conditions Wednesday. Called the Beige Book, the report found employment and wages increased across the Upper Midwest.

Summer camps close, wilderness trips end and kids head home due to BWCA wildfires

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Two YMCA summer camps are closing and sending campers home because of wildfires raging in and around the Boundary Waters area. Meanwhile, state officials will keep new Medicaid provider enrollment paused in a dozen high-risk service programs for at least another six months. 

500 firefighters battling 17 fires in northern Minnesota. And they're expected to burn for weeks

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