skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

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

Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Teamsters choose not endorse a presidential candidate, county officials in Texas fight back against state moves to limit voter registration efforts and the FBI investigate suspicious packages sent to elections offices in at least seventeen states.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Minnesota Census Data: Only Seniors Slipping

play audio
Play

Friday, September 15, 2017   

ST. PAUL, Minn. – U.S. Census data released Thursday had mostly good news for Minnesota, as it continues to recover from the recession. Median income is up, as is the proportion of Minnesotans with health insurance, and the overall poverty rate is down.

One pocket of bad news is the poverty rate for seniors. That rose from 6.9 percent in 2015 to 7.2 percent in 2016.

Colleen Moriarty with Hunger Solutions says she's been seeing more seniors using food stamps and food shelves for the last 2 and a half years.

"So that population we see as becoming more and more at risk," she says. "People who are frail just have fewer and fewer options"

Census numbers show that Minnesotans are aging, with 21.4 percent over age 60 in 2016, compared with 20.8 percent in 2015 and 18.3 percent in 2010.

The data also showed continued disparities between how well Minnesotans of color are doing compared with white Minnesotans. What the data don't capture is how the price of transportation, housing and health care have gone up, and made it difficult for low-wage workers, disabled people and seniors on fixed incomes to keep up.

"We need to marshal enough resources to make sure there's enough food to feed those people and that it's food that they can use in cooperation with their medications and other things and that it's high-quality nutritional food that will keep them independent longer," she explains.

Hunger Solutions recently published a map that shows southwestern Minnesota and some northern parts of the state use food shelves the most.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Including the $236 million in federal funding for wildland fire management recently announced for 2025, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has invested a total of $1 billion to the cause, according to the Department of the Interior. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

This month, the federal government announced funding for next year's wildfire management, totaling $236 million and experts hope threatened …


Social Issues

play sound

From gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson to Superintendent of Public Instruction hopeful Michele Morrow, some Republicans running for office have …

Environment

play sound

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package…


Ohio is among 13 jurisdictions requiring Saturday and Sunday hours for early voting. (PX Media/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

This week, National Voter Registration Day was another timely reminder for Ohioans preparing for the 2024 general election. The latest reports from …

Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Self-Care Awareness Month and the American Heart Association in Missouri is urging caregivers to take some much-needed time for themselve…

Menhaden are forage fish species and filter feeders, each capable of filtering up to seven gallons of water per minute. (Photo of female Osprey with Menhaden/TRCP)

Environment

play sound

In Virginia's waters, the decline of a small but critically important fish is causing growing concern among conservation groups and fishermen alike…

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado voters will decide whether to change the state's constitution to ensure families have school choice as a fundamental right. Kallie Leyba…

Environment

play sound

By Claire Elise Thompson for Grist.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for New Hampshire News Connection reporting for the Grist-Public News Service C…

 

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