skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

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

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

MN Lawmakers Asked to End Food Deserts

play audio
Play

Thursday, February 16, 2017   

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesotans for Healthy Kids Coalition last year pushed legislation to address so-called food deserts in rural and urban areas, and now a bill to fund such legislation is being introduced at the State Capitol Thursday.

The Good Food Access Fund would provide loans, grants and technical assistance to existing or new business owners to offer healthy, affordable food.

The bill's co-author, Rep. Rod Hamilton, says more than 340,000 Minnesotans face both distance and income barriers to getting fresh produce, low-fat dairy products and other healthy options. He adds one in four are children, and one in five are seniors.

"First, we were thinking, 'Let's just put it in and get people talking about it,' and we've received all kinds of support,” he states. “And we were very thankful that other legislators agreed with us and we were able to get it passed last legislative session."

Hamilton says just more than 60 percent of Minnesota counties have been losing grocery stores since 2007.

The University of Minnesota Extension Survey did a survey of grocers and found 6 in 10 plan to own their business for another 10 years or less, and don't have a plan in place for who will operate it after they retire.

Cheryal Hills, who heads the Region Five Development Commission, calls the Good Food Access Fund a well put together program that is a win for children, older Minnesotans and economic development.

"We have seen programs not done well, right, in our state – let's be honest about that,” she states. “The thing I love about the Good Food Access Fund is the intentional focus on trying to bring lots of different minds together to think about what's the best approach."

According to the Minnesotans for Healthy Kids Coalition, limited access to nutritious, affordable food results in a variety of health problems, including higher rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

And a poll commissioned by the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota found almost half of Minnesotans say not having a store nearby that sells healthy foods directly affects what they eat.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

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