Health

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison approved the merger of Sanford Health and North Memorial Health on August 28, 2026, clearing the deal to proceed with conditions intended to protect jobs and services in the state. Business Journal

Meta will pay Minnesota $214 million and impose new age-based limits on Facebook and Instagram to resolve the state's teen-addiction lawsuit, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. Minnesota Reformer

The CDC and FDA tied a multistate E. coli and salmonella outbreak to alfalfa sprouts grown by Minneapolis-based Everything Sprouts. FOX 9

Roughly 60 Allina hospice nurses in the Twin Cities metro voted unanimously to authorize a seven-day unfair-labor-practices strike, the union said. FOX 9

Burning restrictions were lifted across all three million acres of Superior National Forest, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, effective 12:01 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, officials said. FOX 9

A man with reported ties to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel was sentenced to 21½ years in prison in Minnesota for trafficking methamphetamine. FOX 9

The U.S. Senate on Aug. 8 passed a bill delaying a federal ban on intoxicating hemp-derived THC until Dec. 11, 2026, a temporary lifeline for Minnesota producers who say the market is collapsing. FOX 9

FastWave, a Brooklyn Park medtech founded in 2021, has won FDA clearance to begin a pivotal clinical trial of its peripheral intravascular lithotripsy system. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Donald Trump on Aug. 10 issued an executive order proposing to space out childhood vaccines and separate the measles-mumps-rubella shot, a move that collides with falling Minnesota vaccination rates. FOX 9

CDC's 2025-26 kindergarten data show Minnesota's MMR vaccination rate fell to 85.7% while the state's exemption rate rose to 6.9%, leaving coverage well below the 95% herd-immunity benchmark. FOX 9

Investigators say businesses tied to former Anoka County prosecutor Andrea Sampson and two co-defendants are linked to roughly $2.5 million in potentially fraudulent Medicaid claims for autism services, housing stabilization and assisted living. FOX 9

Three members of the Brown family were found dead inside the licensed Brown Bear Daycare in Hopkins in an apparent murder-suicide. FOX 9 The City of Hopkins scheduled a public vigil for Kristen and her daughter Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Downtown Park, and relatives asked for privacy while thanking the community. FOX 9

On August 12, 2026, police said a Burnsville homicide was linked to a separate deadly incident at Brown Bear Daycare in Hopkins that left four family members dead. FOX 9

Ramsey County seniors have lost more than $1.2 million to fraud since Aug. 1, the sheriff's office warned, and officials are urging anyone who suspects they were targeted to report it immediately. FOX 9

A firefighter died after a mid-morning medical emergency while working the Bear Trap Fire near Ely, officials said. FOX 9

A 5-year-old child was found unresponsive in the water at Lake Minnetonka Regional Park in Minnetrista Saturday afternoon and later died after being taken to a hospital. FOX 9

Revol Greens warned it will close its Medford, Minnesota greenhouse on Oct. 4, 2026, a move that would eliminate 89 jobs if no buyer or investor is found. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

A federal civil lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a Minnesota woman who says she was hospitalized with salmonella after eating a chicken burrito bowl from the Roseville Chipotle at Fairdale Shoppes on June 24, 2026. FOX 9

UCare will lay off 102 employees at its Minneapolis headquarters at 600 Stinson Blvd., the company told state officials. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

A wild female deer near Stillwater that died July 16 has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday. FOX 9

Minnesota joined more than 20 states and D.C. in a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., challenging a Trump administration policy to share TANF recipient data. FOX 9

Minnesota has raised the penalty for Medicaid fraud over $1,000,000 by placing those offenses at Severity Level 8 on the state sentencing grid, creating a presumptive prison sentence effective August 1, 2026. FOX 9

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert saying Red's Steak Cilantro and Lime Burritos sold at Costco may contain undeclared egg, posing a major allergen risk. FOX 9

Boston Scientific lowered its 2026 organic net sales growth outlook to 5-6% and announced a restructuring designed to cut about $500 million in annual costs. Business Journal

Four men have pleaded guilty in Minnesota to a scheme that bilked Medicaid of about $2.25 million by billing housing services under the company name Brilliant Minds. Alphanews

A motorcyclist was killed when their motorcycle collided with an automobile at Brooklyn Boulevard and Unity Avenue North in Brooklyn Park on Monday, July 20, 2026, at 9:37 p.m. Central. FOX 9

Minnesota will raise the legal age to buy and possess kratom from 18 to 21 effective Aug. 1, 2026. FOX 9

Muhammad Abdulqadir Omar pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, admitting he and a co-defendant fraudulently obtained millions from Minnesota's Medicaid Housing Stabilization program. FOX 9

Minnesota's 988 mental health lifeline is handling about three times as many contacts now as when it launched in 2022, state reporting shows. FOX 9

Federal authorities have halted more than $1 billion in federal Medicaid funding to California and Minnesota, tying the move to fraud and program-integrity concerns and leaving Minnesota with hundreds of millions in lost funds. Minnesota Reformer

The University of Minnesota Medical School announced it has received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to study how animals fight viruses. FOX 9

Minnesota health officials are tracking Cyclospora infections as U.S. cyclosporiasis cases surge, with thousands sick nationwide and dozens of cases already confirmed in the state. FOX 9

A crisis call to a Burnsville home around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday ended in a large house fire that left one adult male dead, police said. FOX 9

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health warned that dogs adopted or imported from South Dakota are showing a high prevalence of canine brucellosis, an incurable bacterial disease that can force lifelong quarantine or euthanasia. FOX 9

CVS agreed to pay Minnesota more than $850,000 as part of a national $36.5 million settlement over alleged Medicaid insulin billing fraud. FOX 9

About 75,000 Minnesotans have been approved for payments from the statewide paid family and medical leave program during its first six months of operation. FOX 9

Minneapolis closed multiple city beaches on July 7, 2026, after tests detected elevated E. coli levels, city officials said. FOX 9

A Twin Cities mother has been formally charged with murder in the deaths of her infant twins after she allegedly told others they died from vaccinations, prosecutors said. FOX 9

A man drowned while kayaking at Lake Ann Park in Chanhassen Saturday night; he was not wearing a life jacket. FOX 9

Nurses at Allina Health staged a one-day strike at Twin Cities hospitals and clinics, pressing stalled contract talks and prompting the system to activate contingency staffing plans. FOX 9