skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

MN College Students to Get Extra Financial Help

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 17, 2016   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - As college student debts continue to climb across the country, Minnesota is giving thousands of students a little extra financial help.

The state is awarding 95,000 students an extra $200 grant increase this year. The extra money is coming in part from a drop in the number of students enrolling in public colleges and a recent bump in the federal Pell grant.

Larry Pogemiller, commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, said low-income and middle-class students could use the extra resources.

"This should help with their purchase of books and materials, which usually run somewhere about $1,000 per student over the course of a year," he said. "And so, hopefully this will just soften that impact a little bit for most students."

According to the Project for Student Debt, Minnesota has the fifth-highest debt ranking in the nation. Most state students leave college with more than $31,000 in financial burdens.

The Minnesota State Grant Program has awarded up to $180 million to students in need. With a drop in enrollment, Pogemiller said, the program had about $12 million left over, which now is being redistributed to students who qualify. So why the drop in enrollment? Since the economy is doing better, Pogemiller said, fewer students are signing up for community college.

"We're basically at about 3.5 percent unemployment rate now in Minnesota," he said. "It's a natural cycle; when the economy's going well, enrollments tend to be a little down at particularly the two-year colleges."

According to a statement from Gov. Mark Dayton's office, he and state lawmakers have set aside an extra $125 million in the Minnesota State Grant Program over the past five years.

Information on the Project for Student Debt MN is online at ticas.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021