After Minnesota closed within 102-100, Victor Wembanyama, as part of a 16 point fourth quarter masterpiece, captained a 13-8 finish, and San Antonio righted the wrongs of their earlier free throw shooting woes to put away the Wolves 115-108. With Anthony Edwards inserted into the starting lineup for game 3, it was a tale of two first quarters as the Spurs surged to an 18-3 advantage and promptly ceded nearly all of it back to the Wolves in the closing four minutes. Despite the teams being knotted at 51 at the half, San Antonio was able to grab a hold of the lead through most of the second half before Wembanyama’s crunchtime takeover.
Minnesota
A first in Minnesota, Mahnomen hospital shutters inpatient beds to survive
One of Minnesota’s smallest hospitals is eliminating inpatient care and converting to a rural emergency center, a move designed to keep its doors open amid financial struggles.
Mahnomen Health Center’s administrator notified the state earlier this month of plans to close the hospital’s inpatient unit and only operate an emergency room to stabilize and observe patients. State leaders said the northwest Minnesota hospital could be the first of many to be forced by financial shortfalls into this transition, which will be discussed at a state public hearing on April 30 and then take effect the next day.
“The struggles of not-for-profit hospitals in Minnesota are real, they are escalating, and now we are headed toward closures of service lines and closures of things that communities need,” said Dr. Rahul Koranne, chief executive of the Minnesota Hospital Association. The trade group is lobbying Minnesota lawmakers for an increase in hospital payment rates by the state’s Medical Assistance program, which haven’t been adjusted for inflation since 2019.
Minnesota has maintained a broad rural network of inpatient medical care far longer than most states. But about a quarter of its 127 hospitals have been in financial distress and were struggling before the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mayo Clinic’s hospital in Springfield closed in 2020 while several other rural facilities cut high-cost inpatient services such as baby deliveries.
Mahnomen will be the first in the state to contract into a rural emergency hospital — a federally designated level that was offered as a lifeline for struggling hospitals last year. Such facilities must treat patients within 24 hours on average, but can keep patients for longer periods of observation and care as long as that average is maintained by year’s end, said Mahnomen administrator Dale Kruger.
“At hour 25, (the federal rule) isn’t that you have to push them out onto the street,” he said.
The change nonetheless creates a gap of inpatient care that will extend beyond Mahnomen, a community of 1,200 within the White Earth Reservation. The nearest full-service hospitals are 28 miles away in Ada and Fosston, where the mayor and community leaders have been fighting plans by Essentia Health to stop scheduling baby deliveries. The nearest regional hospital is 36 miles south in Detroit Lakes.
Mahnomen is managed by Sanford Health, but owned by Mahnomen County and the city government. The hospital posted an operating loss of 26% in 2022, when it staffed 10 of 18 licensed inpatient beds, according to the most recent public financial data. It was one of the poorest performing hospitals in Minnesota that year, though another 41 lost money and four in Granite Falls, Onamia, Hallock and Lake City lost more than 15% on hospital operations.
Like most small hospitals, Mahnomen buoyed some losses with operating gains from outpatient clinics and elder-care facilities. Kruger said it faces unique challenges serving Minnesota’s poorest county. More than 5% of its charges to patients were written off as unpaid debts, by far the highest rate in Minnesota.
The new designation should have a $1 million impact and cover the hospital’s shortfalls, Kruger said, while minimally affecting patient care. The hospital in 2022 only admitted 52 patients, who stayed on average for three days.
“It was a way to assure health care into the future for our community,” he said.
Nationally, 23 hospitals have switched to rural emergency hospitals, according to the NC Rural Health Research Project. Only eight had been critical access hospitals, a special designation that qualified the nation’s smallest medical facilities such as Mahnomen for increased federal payments. Koranne said other Minnesota hospitals are weighing the switch.
Critics have called rural emergency hospitals “Band-Aid Stations” because of their limited scopes, but Kruger said that was the same label used in the late 1990s when Mahnomen became the state’s first critical-access hospital. He remained confident that local patients would rely on Mahnomen for outpatient and emergency care. The hospital’s 24-hour ER has five bays, including two trauma bays that rapidly resuscitate and stabilize patients.
The Minnesota Department of Health on Wednesday announced the informational hearing — the eighth since the state started requiring them before substantial changes in hospital operations.
Earlier hearings covered the closures of baby delivery units in Fosston and New Prague, a mental health unit in Fergus Falls and an addiction unit in New Ulm. Doctors and nurses spoke in opposition at a hearing last month to Allina Health’s plan to close inpatient pediatric beds at Mercy Hospital, and relocate intensive care and surgical services from Mercy’s Fridley campus to its Coon Rapids campus.
SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The Wild returns to Saint Paul tonight, taking on the Avalanche at Grand Casino Arena for the first time in the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The following lineup is a projection and is subject to change:
San Antonio, despite its early success, struggled for some time to find sufficient support of Wembanyama (39 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks). Running mates Stephon Castle (13 points, 12 assists, and 4 rebounds) and De’Aaron Fox (17 points and 5 assists) started slowly, but both of them worked through the kinks when it mattered most. Devin Vassell (13 points and 6 rebounds) made just the right plays on both ends. Rookie Carter Bryant (6 points and 2 rebounds) made the most of his first half minutes to help the Spurs stay ever so slightly ahead of the Wolves. Keldon Johnson (11 points) worked through an ineffectual playoffs thus far and had a much-needed burst late in the third quarter. Dylan Harper (8 points and 4 rebounds) figured meaningfully in the closing minutes.
Minnesota’s Edwards (32 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists) led the way as expected with Jaden McDaniels (17 points and 7 rebounds) reprising his standout role from the Denver series. Former Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid (18 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists) had an excellent effort off the bench, while Ayo Dosummu (11 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists) also helped the Wolves nearly pull off the upset.
San Antonio picked up where it left off from Wednesday night showcasing its defensive clamps – Edwards’ free throw was the only Minnesota scoring as they missed their first 11 shots. Wembanyama again set up shop in the paint and scored four early ones and netted 9 of the team’s first 11 points. The Wolves stayed glued to one point until the 5:09 mark when a Gobert tip-in roused the crowd from slumber. The Spurs reached zenith at 18-3. Despite the early San Antonio advantage, both teams shot a combined 9-for-36 (25%) over the first nine minutes, which was a foreboding lurch into Minnesota’s closing run. Gobert generated surprising offense, which emboldened Edwards to seek out his offense and the Wolves closed within 22-23 after one.
Three quick Minnesota field goals threatened to cause the Target Center to ’go crazy,‘ but the Spurs’ veterans – Wembanyama and Fox – stabilized them over several tense possessions. Bryant saw first half action and hit a pair of timely threes. Despite wresting the lead back, San Antonio left plentiful points on the board with its free throw misses. The teams fought and clawed to stay within 1-2 possesions of each other until fireworks from Minnesota and San Antonio resulted in a 51 tie at the half.
The teams put up a flurry of threes during a whirlwind third period. San Antonio remained ahead by a handful after the artillery exchange. The really interesting thing was that different players accounted for each three on both sides. The Spurs pushed their lead to as high as seven until Edwards and Dosummu connected on several quick field goals. Wembanyama, while having his left arm behind held by Gobert, swatted away Edwards’ floater with his right hand, and then the Wolves star held his right side as the center tried to run upcourt to join his tammates. After the pace slowed to a veritable crawl, San Antonio still found itself up seven going to the final 12 minutes.
- This was the second game this series where Randle made hostile contact to Castle, and the Spurs guard was whistled for the foul. Tonight’s call, however, was overturned after review.
- If Gobert continues to stay long stretches on the bench, that may effectively consume any meaningful Kornet minutes.
- My friend said, “remember when Ginobili would get fouled… his hair would fly everywhere? That’s Castle” And all I could reply with was “until 2007.”
- Does the Amazon arrow change directions depending on who’s leading?
- It makes sense why the Spurs tried to sell tickets to people within 150 miles of San Antonio in Round 1. The Philadelphia / New York game very much sounded like a pro-Knicks crowd.
- My three sisters and I ended our respective eulogies for my dad with ‘Go Spurs Go.’
- Sequence of the Game #1: Several minutes in, Wembanyama swatted away Randle’s attempt, sped past other Wolves down the floor, and and converted an and-1 over McDaniels. #wemblock
- Sequence of the Game #2: After a Reid three, Fox slithered down to the other end and got a layup over three Timberwolves.
Wembanyama dunked home successive lob passes from Vassell and Castle for San Antonio’s first four points. Fox deflected a pass on the first Wolves possession. (Wembanyama’s first block looked like a goaltend but we’ll keep that between you and me.) Wembanyama’s turnaround banker made it 11-1. The only negative for the Spurs was getting into the foul bonus in less than five minutes. Johnson’s catch-and-shoot triple made it 14-1. Reid’s three caused Mitch Johnson to burn his late period timeout. Gobert’s second and third buckets kickstarted a 9-0 run late in the stanza. Vassell’s floater salvaged a series of fraught moments. Edwards went on a personal twelve point explosion to draw Minnesota within one.
Another Wembanyama lob provided momentary relief from the Wolves’ onslaught – as Edwards, Reid, and McDaniels connected early on in the second period. Bryant hit a corner three to put San Antonio ahead for mere seconds. Bryant’s next one – a shotclock beating three – put the Spurs back up four. Minnesota again drew San Antonio into the foul bonus halfway through. Right as I was muttering to myself that he was settling for too many threes, Castle’s pull-up jumper in the paint put the Spurs up six. An offensive foul on Reid – who elbowed Kornet in the face – was overturned due to the Spurs’ center holding with his left hand. San Antonio challenged an offensive foul whistled on Castle and it was unfortunately upheld. Reid’s corner three put Minnesota back up. but Castle drew Reid’s third foul shortly after. After Castle swiped it clean from Randle, Fox hit his second straight field goal, but that was matched by a McDaniels three tying the game at 51.
Dosummu replaced Mike Conley in the starting lineup, and San Antonio made some decent stops to start the second half. Threes from Castle and Wembanyama put the Spurs up six. After the Wolves bigs used Wembanyama as a punching bag, the referees finally whistled Randle for an offensive foul on an elbow extension. Vassell threw down a thunderous lefty jam seconds later. Edwards hit two baseline floaters and Dosummi followed with a corner three. Castle and Kornet ran pick and roll action to get the center a runner. Harper took a shot to the head on a loose ball situation and stayed down on the court for minutes, while Castle and McDaniels were assessed technicals. San Antonio got into the foul bonus but continued to put up ‘1-for-2s.’ Johnson paired two freebies with a wing three and the Spurs were relieved to head to the fourth up 86-79.
For the Wolves fan’s perspective, please visit Canis Hoopus.
San Antonio stays in the Twin Cities for Game 4 with Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night at 6:30 PM CDT on NBC.
Police in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, are searching for a suspect after an individual was injured in a shooting following an altercation on Friday morning.
Officers responded to the 3300 block of 76th Street around 2:45 a.m. for a report of shots fired and a person who had been hit by gunfire, according to the Inver Grove Heights Police Department. They found the 911 caller, who was struck by a bullet. They were taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, officials said.
Investigators said the suspect was trying to get into the vehicle of the caller. Both individuals shot at each other after a short verbal altercation, according to police.
The suspect, whose description has yet to be disclosed by law enforcement, left the scene on foot.
Police are asking area residents who have video of the shooting or the suspect to email the footage to them.
Anyone who sees the suspect is urged not to approach them and to call 911. According to police, they are considered armed and dangerous.
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