“You will expose yourself to things that most of the public won’t see, except maybe once in their life. But yep, we’re doing it. Fire departments are doing it on a very regular basis,” said Mike Dobesh, president of MNFire, an organization dedicated to keeping firefighters healthy, mentally and physically, and on the job.  

“The fire service is recognizing that any of those unexpected events that we go to, yes, we sign up to do it, but at the same time, those unexpected events can cause trauma; that trauma can lead to PTSD,” Dobesh said.

However, paying for all those firefighters on mandatory PTSD leave is putting the Minneapolis Fire Department in the red. It’s all the overtime needed to fill in for the firefighters on leave.  

“From the therapists that I’ve talked to, usually eight to 10 visits can get that firefighter back on the rig,” Dobesh said, which is the goal of the mandatory leave with treatment. “But then it’s going to be something that’s going to have to be managed for the… probably the rest of their career, because it’s not something that’s just going to go away.”

Dobesh says that PTSD was the number one claim MNFire had on its critical illness policy last year.

In 2023, Minnesota lawmakers created the PTSD leave policy in an effort to keep firefighters from applying for permanent duty disability benefits. The policy requires firefighters and other first responders to take up to 32 weeks of paid leave and get treatment first.

“A trauma-informed therapist can meet with a firefighter, desensitize that firefighter, get them back to work,” Dobesh said.

But that policy is costing some fire departments millions. The Minneapolis Fire Department told the city council this week that 7% to 8% of its firefighters are currently out on PTSD leave, and the overtime other firefighters are working to fill in for them has put the department up to $7 million over budget in recent years. It’s projected to go over again this year.

So what are things they can do to maybe prevent some of these problems that they’re having because of PTSD? Speed up access to treatment, according to Dobesh.

“The sooner we can get in and have that firefighter seen, the more likely they’re going to have a very positive outcome and get back on the job,” he said.

Dobesh says if and when a firefighter needs help varies from person to person, but his organization provides five free treatment sessions for any firefighter who’s struggling.

Minnesota firefighters can call MnFIRE’s helpline 24/7 at 888-784-6634 or visit mnfirehealth.org. 

MFD Interim Chief Melanie Rucker shared the following statement late Wednesday night:

“The utilization of these leaves is often unavoidable and reflects benefits that support the health and well-being of our fire personnel. We take the health and wellness very seriously, including mental health. Through transparent communication with leadership regarding evolving staffing needs and necessary overtime budget adjustments, we can effectively address the budget overages and return to a sustainable path forward.”

Click here to watch the Minneapolis Budget Committee meeting on May 4.

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis 500 drivers turned Wednesday’s practice into a possible race day preview.

They ran in packs, created long, snaking lines through the two long straightaways and mostly avoided trouble over the frantic final 75 minutes on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval.

Conor Daly and Alex Palou took advantage of the cool, overcast conditions to post the fastest laps on the second practice day. Daly posted the best lap of the day at 228.080 mph with Palou just a fraction slower at 228.026. They were the only drivers to top 228, while Palou had the fastest trap speed of the day at 237.220.

“We have, we think, found some speed in other areas,” said Jack Harvey, Daly’s teammate with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. “So, generally, they’re just all excited to try and I think, I mean I think we were good the last month of May, but I think we can be a lot better this year.”

Harvey has been fast all month, though he finished 14th on Wednesday at 225.100.

The weather created ideal conditions for speed and the drivers didn’t disappoint.

Daly, the stepson of speedway president Doug Boles, seems to be making the most of his first and possibly only IndyCar start of the season. He was one of five drivers to top 225 on Tuesday, then backed that up with an even better performance Wednesday.

David Malukas was the strongest of Team Penske’s drivers, finishing third at 227.139, just behind Palou, the Spaniard who has won four series crowns and is the defending 500 champ. Graham Rahal and France’s Romain Grosjean rounded out the top five.

Though most of the 33 drivers stayed on the track as long as they could over the final 75 minutes, crew members for three previous race winners — Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi — were also busy trying to fix problems.

Hunter-Reay, of Arrow McLaren, had a radio issue. Castroneves, of Meyer Shank Racing, had an issue with the car’s balance, while Rossi’s Ed Carpenter Racing crew worked on the engine.

Drivers return to the track Thursday then will receive a turbocharge boost Friday before making four-lap qualification runs on Saturday and Sunday. The race is scheduled for May 24.

It hasn’t just been busy on the track.

One day after series officials announced their second rule change of the month, race organizers announced all reserved seats have been sold for the second straight year and the third time since 2016. That also means fans in central Indiana will be able to watch the telecast live.

And NASCAR team BRANDed Management announced it would give 45-year-old British driver Katherine Legge a chance to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600. If Legge qualifies for both races, she’ll become the first woman to attempt racing’s “double” — 1,100 miles of racing in one day — a half century after Janet Guthrie arrived at the Brickyard with the hope of qualifying for the 33-car starting grid. When that didn’t happen, Guthrie wound up starting NASCAR’s World 600, which is now known as the Coca-Cola 600.

A trio of locally made films will grace area screens, here is your Movie Nerd Report for the week of May 11-17. 

Thursday evening will bring the red-carpet premiere of “The Last Shop On Walnut” at the Cedar Lee Theatre (2163 Lee Rd Cleveland Heights, OH 44118) . The film, which was written and directed by Jason Richardson, was mostly shot in Ravenna. It stars Peter Lawson Jones and Cleveland native Kym Whitley. The screening will benefit the Charles & Margaret Jones Endowed Scholarship Fund at College Now. Tickets can be found at this link.

Can’t make the premiere? The Cedar Lee will be playing the film for at least a full week starting Friday! 

“Blood & Rust” the debut feature from Kent State alumni Jeremy Herbert, will be coming to Cranked Up TV on May 19 and The Ashland Cinema (212 Center Street Ashland, OH 44805)  will be offering a screening of it this Friday evening at 7 p.m., and it is free! 

Sunday at 3:30 p.m. the Capitol Theatre (1390 W.65^th Street Cleveland, OH 44102) will present the directorial debut of Frank Calo IV in “Last Call”. Sounds like this one is poised to sell out so click here to grab your tickets.

Over at the Cleveland Cinematheque (11610 Euclid Ave  Cleveland, OH 44118) :

Cleveland is fortunate to be one of the five select cities of the Future of Film Is Female Series which highlights films from female and nonbinary filmmakers. The first film in this series kicks off Thursday at 6:30 p.m. with the Midwest road trip film, “Dreams In Nightmares.”

Thursday at 9 p.m. and  Friday at 9 p.m. they will present a 4K Restoration of the Dutch classic “Malpertius,” which features Orson Welles. 

Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4:30 p.m. they will present the Italian dramedy “The Last One For The Road.” 

Saturday at 6:30 p.m.  and Sunday at 7:35 p.m. they will present a documentary that explores the effects of colonialism on Northern Argentina in “Our Land.” 

Saturday at 8:50 p.m. and Sunday at 5:45 p.m.  they will present a 4K Restoration of the Argentinian film “The Headless Woman”

Sunday at 3:30 p.m. they will present the documentary “Four Rational People,” which looks at the Emerson String Quartet’s final performance. 

More information about the films and ticket prices are at: cinematheque.cia.edu

At the Nightlight Cinema (30 N High Street Akron, OH 44308): 

One of the most acclaimed films of the year is the Canadian drama “Blue Herron,” it is the feature debut of Sophy Romvari, who gained attention for her short films. 

They also will be playing the documentary “Steal This Story, Please,” which highlights independent investigative journalist Amy Goodman. 

More Information about the films and ticket prices are at: nightlightcinema.com

This weekend there are a trio of new films opening in wide release: The first is one that I would recommend if you are a horror fan – “Obsession”. This film continues a trend where we are seeing Youtubers become filmmakers, in this case it is 26-year-old Curry Barker. This is a spin on “be careful what you wish for” when a young man makes a wish for his crush to love him more than anything else in the world, and it gets increasingly disturbing from there. I personally loved it and thought the performance from actress Inde Navarrette will make her a star. 

“Is God Is” is a revenge tale which was based on an award-winning play by Alesha Harris. Harris makes her feature directorial debut and currently the film stands at 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes!

The other film opening is the latest from director Guy Ritchie, the action-thriller “In The Grey” with Jake Gyllenhall and Henry Cavill. 

Rounding out this busy week are some anniversaries hitting screens in “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick” for one week to commemorate the 40^th Anniversary of Tony Scott’s original, and the original “Shrek” is also playing for one week to commemorate its 25^th Anniversary (Anniversaries like this are making your resident movie nerd feel old!). 

Lastly, I just wanted to wish congratulations to my longtime friend Dave Huffman, who has just been named the new director of The Cleveland Cinematheque! If you have ever attended some of the Late Shift Series back in the day at the Cedar Lee or Capitol, or the 12 Hours of Terror, you know that Dave is a huge cinephile and I am certain will do a great job at the Cinematheque!

Until next week my friends, see ya at the movies!