ST. PAUL, Minn. — This weekend, about a half-million anglers are expected to cast a line for Minnesota’s 2024 fishing opener.

But have you ever wondered: How many different kinds of fish swim in our lakes, and how do they impact our economy? Good Question.

At Como Lake, the fish are biting, and newlyweds Julius and Lawanda are reeling them in.

“We come often. I’m just getting her into it,” Julius said.

They’re not alone — a survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows 1.7 million anglers went fishing in Minnesota in 2022. Of those, 69% were residents and 31% were from out of state.

“The nonresidents are really important to our economy,” said Brad Parsons, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Fishery Section Manager. “Pretty much anything you want to fish for you can find in the state of Minnesota.”

In 2022, 21% of Black, 26% of Hispanic and 27% of White Minnesotans cast a line.

“Women are one of our fastest growing portions in the fishing industry, which is really exciting,” said Parsons.

Thirty-eight percent of men and 14% of women went fishing last year.

“There’s different ways of looking at it, but we estimate it’s about $4.4 billion industry,” Parsons said.

According to the American Sportfishing Association, fishing supports 28,000 Minnesota jobs.

“It’s not just bait shops, it’s not just resorts, it’s people buying gas, it’s people going to restaurants, getting coffee, et cetra. So that multiple is really important for the economy,” Parsons said.

Parsons says there are about 160 different kinds of fish in the state. About 50 of them are considered catchable.

Of our more than 10,000 lakes, about 6,000 of them are considered fishing lakes.

“We have about 18,000 miles of rivers and streams people can fish and that’s a really overlooked portion,” Parsons said. “People think lakes when they think fishing, but some of our best fishing is in our river systems.”

The DNR reminds anglers to wear life jackets and keep safety in mind this weekend as the water is still very cold.

BIRD ISLAND, Minn. — There is a special bond among farmers in Minnesota, but that’s not the same business partnership that would help create a group health insurance policy.

Instead, farmers like Calvin Aarons and his wife have to buy individual policies on the open market, and Aarons said the experience recently has been increasingly frustrating and costly. Specifically, he says, there doesn’t seem to be rhyme or reason about what’s in network versus out of network.

“If they’re going to come out here and own the hospital, then you should go to a doctor that’s in network. Why do you want to send your business somewhere else?” Aarons lamented to WCCO. “You figure it’s all HealthPartners. The doctor said you’re all HealthPartners, until you get the bill and it says ‘out of network.’”

According to Aarons, his wife went to see a specialist at the Olivia Hospital and Clinic, which is run by HealthPartners. The specialist then referred Aarons’ wife to another physician at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, which is also HealthPartners, for a more complicated procedure.

The bill for the procedure cost nearly $20,000 because it was considered “out of network” for their health insurance plan, Medica Applause.

“Why aren’t we in network when we come to the Mothership?” Aarons quipped, referring to Methodist Hospital. “It’s major money.”

Aarons isn’t alone; insurance agents WCCO spoke with warn access and affordability are major problems.

“The best adjective is complete chaos,” Tom Gruhlke, a longtime insurance agent for the Farm Bureau, explained to WCCO. “It was the advent of the Affordable Care Act that created all of this chaos, and to some degree nonsense, in the individual market.”

Specifically, Gruhlke said, costs became too high for insurance companies to grant open access to individuals, so they began to impose more restrictions on coverage. 

Hospitals, moreover, chose not to enter contracts for certain insurance plans if the reimbursements weren’t financially viable.

“These insurance plans now are being negotiated all the time, whether to be in or out of network,” Gruhlke added.

In a statement to WCCO News, a HealthPartners spokesperson said, “We understand how complex it can be to do determine whether care is in-network. Because of that, we partner with patients to help them understand their options.”

Medica also sent a statement to WCCO News, saying: “Contracts between hospitals and insurance companies are based on several factors, which can make them seem complicated. We can’t get into specifics on negotiations because that information is proprietary. Generally, contracts may be renewed every one to three years. It is notable that Medica Applause offers a very broad network that includes access to Mayo, Allina, M Health Fairview, North Memorial and many other metro facilities that offer the full range of acute and specialty care to members from across the state of MN.”

Still, all of those options are a far trip for Aarons, which is why he also cautioned this might be just a symptom of the bigger issue: the rural versus urban divide.

“Fifty years ago, 40 years ago, grandpa was on the farm,” he said. “Now it’s another generation away from grandpa. A few more years, it’ll be great grandpa. Then it’s all history.”