Via WCCO: UnitedHealth Group turned in a better-than-expected fourth quarter even as medical costs soared 16% for the health care giant. Shares of UnitedHealth and other major health care and insurance providers slipped in early trading Friday after the company announced results.
Kavita Kumar at the Star Tribune is reporting CVS Health is closing dozens of pharmacies inside of Target stores over the next few months. The pharmacy chain said the closings will begin next month and will be completed by the end of April.
Danny Spewak at KARE 11 reports just months into a contract, the Hennepin County Board voted this January to terminate an agreement with North Memorial Health, which provided $48 million over two years for people struggling to pay their medical bills.
Nicole Ki at MPR News reports on the mental health of students returning to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls soon, following a suicide cluster last fall.
Alex Cotter at KAAL-TV reports the Minnesota Legislature will soon consider whether to join a growing number of states looking to legalize assisted death.
Dana Thiede at KARE 11 reports between Nov. 22 and New Year’s Eve, Minnesota state troopers, police officers and sheriff’s deputies from 279 separate departments pulled over 2,432 drivers and arrested them for DWI.
Michael Schaffer at Politico has a piece on Rep. Dean Phillips’ frustration with MSNBC and other networks’ lack of attention to his presidential campaign: “They’re trying to convert me from a person of principle and competency to a kook.”
Briana Bierschbach at the Star Tribune goes on a quest to find Paul Wellstone’s iconic campaign bus.
Also in the Strib, Erin Adler reports the owner of Taco Chon Mexican Grills in Burnsville and St. Cloud has agreed to change the name of his restaurants after a lawsuit filed by Taco John’s International alleging that the too-similar name infringed on their trademarked name.
