Aging

Minnesotans are living longer and that trend is expected to continue. According to Minnesota State Demographic Center projections, the number of adults 65 years and older is anticipated to double between 2010 and 2030. That means 1 in 5 Minnesotans will be an older adult.

MPR News is looking at this shift and what it means to all of us.

Related: End in Mind delves into how our culture engages with loss, dying and death and offers resources to live more and fear less.

Nursing home operators fear 'collapse' after another COVID wave
In the early stages of the pandemic, nursing homes and assisted living facilities faced enormous challenges and grief, as the virus had severe and deadly consequences on residents. Now some say the system of caring for vulnerable people is itself in danger.
Nursing home worker shortage ripples through communities
Worker shortages in nursing homes are causing ripple effects across communities, putting pressure on long-term care facilities, hospitals and families.
The perception and politics of gray hair
When salons closed during the early days of the pandemic, many women decided to embrace their natural gray hair. And now, many have decided to ditch the hair dye permanently. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the way that society perceives gray hair with two women who went gray.
Walz names long-term care sites to get Guard staffing help
The governor also announced plans to recruit and train at least 1,000 certified nursing assistants to deploy to long-term care facilities by the end of January. 
Walz pledges National Guard help for nursing homes
Gov. Tim Walz said Monday he will deploy teams from the National Guard and pledged $50 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to help nursing homes in Minnesota deal with short staffing and other needs related to COVID-19.
A Minnesotan with Alzheimer's plans for death on her own terms
When Cheryl Hauser of Hopkins, Minn., was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, she made plans to eventually end her life on her own terms through a process called VSED, or voluntarily stopping eating and drinking, before the worst of the disease takes hold. Hauser and her daughter spoke with host Cathy Wurzer about the decision.
'Nimblewill Nomad,' 83, is oldest to hike Appalachian Trail
M.J. “Sunny” Eberhart, 83, of Alabama, known by the trail name Nimblewill Nomad, strode into the record books Sunday as the oldest hiker to complete the 2,193-mile Appalachian Trail.
Long-term care industry, facing staffing shortages, on edge over vaccine mandate
President Joe Biden’s administration announced this week that all nursing home employees must get the COVID-19 vaccine by Jan. 4. Some Minnesota long-term care leaders say they are worried the requirement could cause more staff to quit at a time when there are 23,000 open jobs in the industry.
Vaccinated seniors navigate life in mostly unvaccinated rural America
Vaccination rates in much of rural America remain low. But there's one demographic with rates consistently higher than the national average: seniors, many of whom remember lining up eagerly as children to get the polio vaccine.