Median home sale price in the Twin Cities rises to $281,000

by MinnPost staff 05/22/201902/06/2024

`[image_credit]MinnPost photo by Peter Callaghan[/image_credit]`

Priced out. Jim Buchta at the Star Tribune is keeping an eye on rising housing prices in the Twin Cities: “During April there was a 7%-decline in closings, but the median price of those sales rose to a record $281,000, according to a monthly report from the Minneapolis Area Realtors (MAR). … Throughout the metro, demand for inexpensive houses that are affordable to first-time buyers and downsizing baby boomers exceeds supply, putting many would-be buyers on the sidelines.”

Of leads and legal loopholes. Also in the Strib, Joe Carlson has a piece on thousands of patient complaints the FDA did not make public about Medtronic’s Sprint Fidelis defibrillator leads: “The leads, which allow an implanted defibrillator to shock the heart and prevent sudden cardiac death, were the subject of more than 36,900 individual reports of problems, ranging from delivery of unneeded shocks (2,898 reports) to fractures in the wires (22,093). But those reports were not known to the public, until this week. … Although the Minnesota-based med-tech manufacturer pulled the devices from hospital stockrooms, it didn’t recommend surgically removing the devices from people’s chests because the risks from removal appeared to outweigh the risks of leaving the devices in place.”

Finish what you started. Jimmy Lovrien at Forum News Service reports on a bill put forth by Rep. Betty McCollum regarding mining near the BWCA: “A bill report authored by McCollum released Tuesday, May 21, accompanying the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, directs the Department of Agriculture to conduct a scientific, environmental review of potential impacts a copper-nickel mine within the Rainy River Watershed could have on the BWCAW and Superior National Forest.“

Get your shots. Randy Petersen at the Rochester Post-Bulletin has a piece on possible action by Olmsted County commissioners to protect citizens from the current measles outbreak: “‘To me, in my simple farmer mind, this is easy,’ Olmsted County Board Chairman Jim Bier said. ‘We have something that’s worked for 40 years. There is no excuse not to get your kids immunized.’ … The measles has been reported as nearby as Iowa, where two cases were diagnosed last month, according to Olmsted County Public Health. That raises concerns about a spread of the disease to our area, and Bier and other commissioners indicated they’d back an ordinance to mandate vaccinations, if possible.”

A lot, but not enough? Peter Cox at MPR News recaps how higher education systems fared at the end of this year’s legislative session: “Funding for higher education was the only budget bill state lawmakers passed before the end of the session late Monday night. For the state’s higher ed systems that means an end to the uncertainty over funding, and about $150 million in new money over the coming two years.”

Kwik Trip to urgent care. KSTP is reporting on an outbreak of salmonella linked to vegetable trays sold at the Kwik Trip chain: “Health officials say the Del Monte vegetable trays, which included broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and dill dip, have been linked to salmonella bacteria. So far, it has sickened three people in Wisconsin and one in Minnesota. Symptoms of salmonellosis are similar to the flu. The same product sold at Kwik Trip stores last June sickened more than a dozen people in Wisconsin and Minnesota.”

Stay inside. Sheila McCoy at the Dairyland Peach gives us one more reason to worry about the upcoming tick season: “While the Powassan virus is considered rare with only 34 documented cases in Minnesota since 2008, it is not to be taken lightly. Unlike other types of tick-borne diseases, there is no treatment or cure available for those who are infected by the Powassan virus, said Laura Schoonover, interim infection preventionist at CHI St. Gabriel’s Health in Little Falls.”