Near Two Harbors, 34 structures burned and Highway 61 closed; in Crow Wing County, a 1,600-acre fire sparked evacuations

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This is the last 5x8 for a few weeks. I'm beating the end-of-season, beat-the-out-of-pocket increase,  health care rush and having some work done on the 

It's "open enrollment" season at businesses that provide health insurance, and, of course, it's "buy now" season on MNsure and Obamacare websites for those who don't, so there's the expected complaining about the rising cost of health insurance and weaker coverage by way of higher copays and out-of-pocket caps.

Remember when hospital bills were front and center when it came to health care complaints? Hospital charges account for a third of the U.S. health care bill and are the largest driver of health care inflation, the 

Hospitals are the biggest players in the health care game, the report says, and are subject to almost no regulations and there is no cost basis for what they charge.

Mayo announces $72M hospital expansion project

It's a shame -- for the rest of us -- that KSTP's Jason Davis is retiring. He does fine work uncovering stories about everyday people, reminding us that there's a lot more of Minnesota outside the Twin Cities, than the steady drumbeat of crooks, liars, and perverts in the news would suggest.

“I’m not moving on to do other things,” 

. “I’ve run my course, and I’ve achieved what I needed to achieve. There are only so many stories out there; I find it more difficult each week to find stories that are interesting and new to me.”

3) LIVING THE GOOD LIFE IN SW MINNEAPOLIS      

The good news is that journalist David Brauer is back writing again (this time for the SW Journal). The bad news is

 they're killing people in his neighborhood

 in Minneapolis. Or maybe it's good news that it's only one, and the last one was more than five years ago, and Minneapolis’ southwestern-most neighborhoods have had zero homicides in the last 10 years.  Which is bad news for predominantly minority neighborhoods which live with killings as a way of life.

exposed the Minnesota Wild and the National Hockey League

 in its investigation of the brain damage of former enforcer Derek Boogaard, the league circled the wagons, said almost nothing, and hoped the issue would go away. It did. Wild fans still stand and whoop whenever a hockey goon drops the gloves and pummels someone else. Referees still stand back and let fights occur, while the league continues to crank out press releases about a crackdown on fighting.

Then last week A 10 former NHL players filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the NHL didn't inform players about the perils of repetitive brain injuries.

 reports today, created a "stinging backlash" from hockey apologists.

 America isn't ready for this yet, the media giant Clear Channel believes.

 from its billboards in New York's Times Square.  The photo is part of an advertising campaign for SnoreStop, a line of over-the-counter snoring remedies.  Its slogan is “If we can keep this couple together, we can keep anyone together.”

Clear Channel says the ad is "uncomfortable."

Donations at the kettles are down? Bring in the dogs. It's like printing cash.

Do the moneyed elite lack the patience for classical music?

Shannon Gibney, MCTC prof, also took heat for structural racism comments in 2009

(9-12 p.m.) - First hour: The social cost of long term unemployment.

Second hour: Comet ISON and the latest in space news.

 (12-1 pm) -   A new Intelligence Squared debate: Does Domestic Spying Keep Us Safe?

 (3-6:30 p.m.) - Stadium officials, the Vikings and other dignitaries will have the official groundbreaking for the new Vikings stadium. They have 940 days to finish it off. MPR's Tim Nelson will have the story.

It's been almost three years since the revolution in Egypt. And instead of bringing stability there is now a battle over competing versions of recent events.  Activists say the military led government is cleansing the past and there is no public pressure to hold them to account. NPR looks at shaping history in Egypt.

NewsCut

Bob Collins

Author

Paying until it hurts in the ER,  Goodbye to Jason Davis,  when the privileged in Minneapolis get a taste of life in other neighborhoods,  the bullying experiment,  and the brains of hockey ignore the brains of hockey.

Outrageous hospital charges, Jason Davis, and the inequality of Minneapolis homicides (5×8 – 12/3/13)

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