The bigger bite taken out of Minnesotans' paychecks by higher consumer costs is being seen in multiple ways - including the possibility of corporate profiteering.

A new report from the Groundwork Collaborative said corporations are taking advantage of the pandemic to drive up costs for things such as prescription drugs, groceries and diapers. The authors pointed to corporate earnings calls in which some CEOs openly boast about their price hikes.

Shirwa Adan, executive director of the Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization, which helps immigrants with needs such as job placement, said it's clear these individuals are feeling the squeeze.

"It's something that the community is feeling and those low-income families, maybe that are using government assistance, what you're seeing is whatever they will receive, it stays the same," he said, "but the prices have doubled across the board."

He also said he sees local residents scrambling to find higher-paying jobs to offset price increases. The report compiled information that details near-record corporate profits. And the U.S. Commerce Department noted these margins are at their highest level in 70 years.

Corporate leaders argued the spikes are largely fueled by supply-chain issues and labor shortages, but the Groundwork Collaborative suggested those arguments are a shield for decades of corporations monopolizing certain industries, creating less competition and worsening supply issues seen today.

Coleen Bui, who owns Shear Reflections, a hair salon in Worthington, said it's harder to buy products, the ones she can locate are more expensive, and her stylists have seen changes in customer activity.

"People stretch out their appointments further in between," she said. "It makes a difference on what the girls take in."

Shannon Berns, who founded Du Nord, a Minnesota-based small-business consulting firm, said clients are still in "recovery mode" from the pandemic and are now passing along price hikes for their products onto customers. She said some are raising eyebrows about the extra costs from suppliers.

"It's hard for them to understand why I just had my prices hiked 50% last month," she said, "and now you're hiking them again, by the same or more."

Minnesota's attorney general has called on state lawmakers to advance legislation on the issue, including updates to anti-competitive statues. But the report said a broader crackdown is needed, as well as more investment in supply-chain infrastructure, to make a difference.

Whether it's Hurricane Ian, Fiona or other weather disasters, people are being warned about donating to fraudulent charities. Scams have become common during disaster relief efforts, according to national and state watchdog agencies.

Kristen Johnson, director of communications at the Better Business Bureau of Connecticut, shared some red flags: Be wary of any unsolicited text messages, and check what percentage of your donation goes to the cause. Any service fee should be very modest. She also urged people to be careful with crowdfunding websites.

"A lot of people will go on a crowdfunding website and see someone that's giving to charity, and they will think, 'Oh, this is an easy way for me to give my donation.' But, you really need to do your research," Johnson cautioned, "Because not all crowdfunding websites vet the people who are collecting donations."

Instead, she advised people to donate directly to the charity themselves. To prevent losing any money in a possible scam, Johnson recommended using a credit card, so you can dispute incorrect charges. When it comes to donating, she suggested giving to experienced charities who are already working on disaster relief in the area.

As other, equally powerful storms bear down on other areas of the Caribbean and Mainland U.S., numerous charities will be collecting aid for the damage. Though people can find plenty of legitimate places to donate to certain causes, Johnson acknowledged the issue of fake charities is widespread.

"It happens so often," Johnson pointed out. "It's not just natural disasters, but I would point to Ukraine. After the war started breaking out in Ukraine, we started receiving reports on BBB scam tracker of people who thought they were donating to a legitimate charity and realized after the fact that they weren't."

While scams regarding recent storms have not yet been as widely reported, the Better Business Bureau does have an online tool where people can report fishy organizations. Johnson added some people feel a sense of shame about being conned, but confusion can be widespread, and reporting their experience helps prevent others from being taken in.

Evidentiary hearings are underway in a Washington, D.C., courtroom this week, to decide if a massive lawsuit against the cellphone industry will be allowed to go to trial.

Multiple families are suing most of the major wireless companies and their trade association, asking for hundreds of millions in damages, claiming cellphone use causes brain tumors.

Monique Solomon Martinazzi, a plaintiff whose husband Andy passed away at age 43, said he had a brain tumor which developed right where he used to hold his cellphone.

"When cellphones first came out he got one of the original battery-held Motorolas," Solomon Martinazzi recounted. "And it was held to his ear 6-7 hours a day. He was in commercial real estate. And we just felt so strongly that was the reason the brain tumor developed where it did."

The industry trade association and Motorola did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but they have said their products are safe and comply with all government standards.

The lawsuit claims the Federal Communications Commission standards are outdated and pointed to a government study showing exposure to cellphone radiation can cause brain and heart tumors in rats.

Industry lawyers argued in court if cellphones caused cancer, we'd be seeing an epidemic of tumors.

Ellie Marks, founder of the California Brain Tumor Association and another plaintiff whose husband Allan has had two brain surgeries so far, said the industry and the government are ignoring the evidence.

"There is a rise in primary brain tumors, especially gliomas, especially in the younger population," Marks pointed out. "These tumors used to only be seen in those over 65. Now we're seeing people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, perishing from this."

The families are claiming wrongful death, personal injury and loss of consortium.

Dr. Joel Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health in the School of Public Health at the University of California-Berkeley, said if a U.S. court rules cellphone use leads to brain cancer, the implications are huge.

"It probably would lead to many additional cases being filed by brain cancer victims," Moskowitz explained. "It also may force our government to finally take this issue seriously."

In related news, a judge in Canada recently ruled a class-action lawsuit can go forward against Apple and Samsung. The plaintiffs claimed cellphones emit more than the allowable levels of radiation, and the defendants knowingly harmed users.

The work of some nonprofit organizations has only increased with the pandemic and the needs that have come from it. An author and expert in the field of trauma speaks at a Montana conference today about many workers' feelings of being overwhelmed.

Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, founder and director of the Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of "The Age of Overwhelm", said there's a cycle for nonprofits in which they become overextended because of structural issues within society, which in turn affects their workers.

"You have individuals who are trying to sustain doing this exceedingly hard work," she said, "but in environments where it's almost impossible to do it or near impossible to do it."

van Dernoot Lipsky said it also can be hard for workers because of their vicarious exposure to trauma over time, or when they work in environments where there's high burnout. About one in nine Montanans works in the nonprofit sector.

The Montana Nonprofit Association's annual GATHER conference is taking place virtually this week and in-person next week in Helena.

Van Dernoot Lipsky said it's important for organizations to reconcile the fact that they won't be able to meet all the needs in their community.

"And when you have these very devoted folks working for you," she said, "we've got to honor and make sure that the work environment is sustainable for them, so that we are not inadvertently causing harm to the very folks who are doing this work in an effort to reduce harm out in society."

Van Dernoot Lipsky said people in the nonprofit industry who are feeling depleted or disheartened should understand that they are not alone.

"One of the messages that I think is very important is for folks to remember that whatever they've got going on, they are in really good company and that they're not alone and it's not just them," she said. "And so, just wanting to make sure that we interrupt that isolation, anywhere we possibly can."