Minnesota
Ernesto Londoño on the Personal Cost of Minnesota’s Political Killings
New York Times reporter Ernesto Londoño joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the recent murder of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman, which has made headlines as local politicians in the U.S. are rarely targeted for assassination. Londoño describes how a gunman posing as law enforcement went to the homes of several state politicians, killing Hortman and her husband Mark and gravely injuring Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. Londoño recounts how the No Kings Rally at the Minnesota capitol later that day honored the crime’s victims in addition to protesting President Trump. Londoño details the alleged attacker’s background and debunks conspiracy theories about possible motives. Comparing the current circumstances to his own childhood in Colombia, where political attacks on the local level were common, Londoño discusses how Trump “redrew the rules of acceptable political discourse,” and how increasing violence against lawmakers may impact who is willing to serve.
To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/. This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan, Whitney Terrell, Hunter Murray, and Janet Reed.
Ernesto Londoño
Suspect in Minnesota Attacks Was a Doomsday Prepper, Investigator Says • Scenes From a Vigil for Victims of the Minnesota Shooting • What We Know About How the Minnesota Assassination Case May Unfold • Melissa Hortman, Minnesota Lawmaker Killed in Shooting, Is Remembered by Colleagues • Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics
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The Death of a Senator: Tommy Burks and Byron (Low Tax) Looper | nashvillescene.com (2018)
EXCERPT FROM A CONVERSATION WITH ERNESTO LONDOÑO
Ernesto Londoño: The very first time I went to the Capitol when I moved to Minnesota in 2012— 2022, pardon me— I was struck that there’s no metal detectors, no security screening to get into the Capitol. When I went to shake hands with the governor early on in my tenure here, and when I’ve gone to see the attorney general or meet lawmakers, it is not a heavily fortified space. It is very different than, for instance, walking into the U.S. Capitol or a federal building, where you do have to go, at the very least, through a metal detector.
Just on that front, I think there’s a recognition that greater security may be an order in a city and in a state where there’s long been a presumption that it was unlikely that people like them and elected officials like them could be targets. On the other hand, there’s always been an ease of finding out where your elected representative lives. When they filed paperwork to run for office, they need to disclose where they live to make sure they’re eligible to run in their district, and those are public records. I think now, as people absorb the shock of what has happened, there’s also a lot of conversations about whether there should be broader, better, layers of security, protecting them from people who may do them harm.
V.V. Ganeshananthan: Just a point of fact for our listeners, Minnesota is a conceal and carry state. So on my campus, for example, they will say things like, “No arms on these premises.” This is often posted on restaurants, etc. When I moved here, I was, like, the last time I saw this posted on a building was in northern Sri Lanka, on a nonprofit’s door where it’s really a sign for militants, right? But it’s here because it’s a conceal and carry state, so that’s the other bit of context.
Whitney Terrell: I just was gonna say that one of the reasons why you don’t have security details around state legislators is that we have had a history of violence against national political figures that is sad, but stretches way back. But—I did a little research here—the last time a state senator was killed was in 2015, and that was Dylann Roof’s attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which wasn’t directed at that state senator. He just happened to be there. And before that, you have to go back to a guy named Bill Gwatney, who was in the Arkansas State Senate, who was shot by a disgruntled employee, which really also had nothing to do with his political work. And then in 1998, Tommy Burks, a member of the Tennessee State Senate, was killed by his opponent. So in our history, this is very rare, and the localization of that kind of violence, to me, is what’s different and new in many ways about this. You reported, as we mentioned in your bio, on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—I reported on Iraq as well—as well as serving as a correspondent in Brazil. You were born in Bogotá. In your experience, how common is this, the assassination of really local officials like this, not national officials, in other places and in other times? And what do these killings tell us about the state of democracy in the U.S. now, if anything?
EL: I’ve actually been thinking quite a bit about my upbringing in Colombia this week, because, unfortunately when I was growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, this was pretty common there. You know, politicians, journalists, activists were all fair game in a very messy war. And I think we all know political assassinations are not new. In the United States, there’s been political violence here dating back decades. We’ve had presidents who were gunned down. But I would say this is really kind of shattering a sense of what was reasonably safe in the political arena. We’re starting to come to terms with the fact that political violence is becoming a growing reality at all levels in our country. We had two presidential assassination attempts last year targeting Trump when he was on the campaign trail, one that came dangerously close to blowing out his brain. We had a really scary arson attack targeting the governor of Pennsylvania recently, when he was in his home. We had, of course, the attack against Nancy Pelosi and her husband in their residence.
Elected officials across the country looking at this pattern are increasingly asking themselves, what are my defenses like, and how do I bolster them? At this candlelight vigil I went to on Wednesday, you had a bunch of elected officials. You had members of Congress. Congresswoman Angie Craig was there, and she was working the crowd and hugging people, but she was flanked by two very big and burly bodyguards dressed in black, who were watching her like a hawk and like a ticking bomb was about to go off. I just remember feeling really sad about that scene and what that told us about our politics and the environment and the hyperawareness with which local officials now have to conduct themselves in public.
VVG: I want to ask one more thing about the consequences of Melissa Hortman’s assassination, before moving on to talk about Vince Boelter as a person, and that is this has a specific electoral consequence, which is that the legislature—our local bodies were set up in a certain way, and now, in addition to the great grief of mourning, her as a person, as a public servant, her seat now has to be filled. Can you tell us anything about what—I mean, did he get what he wanted? And then what actually happens now to the seat? She spent her life trying to help people, trying to fill this office, and this office is now going to have to be filled by someone else.
EL: One important piece of context here is, if you take a step back and look at the political reality, in Minnesota, you have a really closely divided legislature, and in the House in particular, voters left that chamber evenly split, which is pretty unusual. There was even a big fight early this year about who would be the speaker and who would kind of wield control of how the chamber operates procedurally. That was the time when Melissa Hortman brokered a deal by which, even though they were evenly split, she said that the senior Republican in the House should get a chance to be speaker for the next two years. Because the legislature wrapped up its session this year and they passed a budget and all the bills were going to pass this year, nothing active is happening in state lawmaking right now.
So procedurally, what would happen is, at some point the governor will convene a special election to fill her seat. Her seat is widely regarded as a very safe Democratic seat, and I think the operating assumption is that somebody will be elected to fill her seat before the legislature reconvenes next year for a new session. So the political implications to this are negligible. In terms of, does it give one party more power than the other, I think it will keep the status quo. The question, though, I think, in the longer term is, how many state lawmakers who are really shaken by this will decide, I’ve done enough, I’ve served enough, I’m out of this. What kind of people will be attracted to politics in this day and age, to serve in jobs that have long paid very, very little and been very, very demanding and are now presumed to be a lot more dangerous than people thought?
Transcribed by Otter.ai. Condensed and edited by Rebecca Kilroy.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Gas prices are climbing again in the Twin Cities, with experts warning drivers to brace for more increases if oil prices keep rising.
Twin Cities gas prices see sharp increase
What we know:
According to GasBuddy’s survey of 1,106 stations, the average price for regular gasoline in the Twin Cities jumped 10.9 cents per gallon in the last week, now sitting at $4.18 per gallon. That’s 38.6 cents higher than a month ago, and $1.28 more than this time last year.
The national average price for gasoline also rose, hitting $4.48 per gallon after a 5.1-cent increase over the past week. Diesel prices are up too, with the national average at $5.62 per gallon, a 0.2-cent increase.
The cheapest gas in the Twin Cities was $3.70 per gallon Sunday, while the most expensive was $4.63 — a difference of 93 cents per gallon. Across Minnesota, prices ranged from $3.70 to $5.01 per gallon.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said, “Average gasoline prices declined in just six states over the last week, led by the Great Lakes region, where motorists in states like Michigan and Ohio saw prices fall sharply, while Indiana experienced even steeper relief after the state temporarily waived both its excise and use taxes on gasoline.”
GasBuddy’s data shows that while some states saw relief, most drivers are paying more at the pump.
Gas prices in neighboring states
By the numbers:
Gas prices in neighboring states and cities are also fluctuating. Wisconsin drivers are paying $4.37 per gallon, almost unchanged from last week. Sioux Falls saw a significant jump, with prices rising 17.3 cents to $4.13 per gallon. Minnesota’s statewide average is now $4.16, up 11.1 cents from last week.
Looking at the last five years, Twin Cities prices have varied: $2.90 per gallon in May 2025, $3.25 in 2024, $3.47 in 2023, $4.11 in 2022 and $2.76 in 2021. GasBuddy compiles these numbers from more than 11 million weekly price reports across over 150,000 gas stations nationwide.
How much more you’re paying at the pump
Dig deeper:
In the scenario that your vehicle has a 15-gallon tank that you fill up about every 10 days, here is a look at how much more it’s costing you in May versus April, and in 2026 versus last year.
Now: At an average price of $4.18/gallon at three times per month at $62.70 per trip, that comes out to $188.10
One month ago: An average price of $3.79/gallon at $56.85 per trip, that’s $170.55 per month.
One year ago: An average price of $2.90/gallon at $43.50 per trip, that’s $130.50 per month.
Drivers face more uncertainty ahead
What’s next:
De Haan said, “Those declines helped pull the national average lower by roughly eight cents over the last several days after oil prices eased mid-week on optimism that the U.S. and Iran could reach a deal. However, that optimism has since largely unraveled, with talks appearing to stall and President Trump signaling the latest proposal is unacceptable, helping push oil prices higher again in Sunday electronic trade.”
He warned that if oil prices continue to climb, the national average could approach $4.65 per gallon. Ongoing refinery issues are also affecting diesel production, especially in the Great Lakes region, where prices are nearing record highs.
Should geopolitical tensions escalate further, fuel prices could rise even more sharply in the weeks ahead, De Haan said. Many drivers are watching prices closely and hoping for relief, but experts say the outlook remains uncertain for now.
What we don’t know:
It’s unclear how long prices will continue to rise or when drivers might see relief at the pump. Future changes will depend on oil markets, refinery operations and global events.
The Source: This story uses information from GasBuddy.
Cori Roberts of St. Cloud, Minnesota, incurred more than $8,000 in medical bills after she was diagnosed at CentraCare with early-stage cervical cancer. She says the health system told her she made too much — about $41,000 a year — to qualify for financial aid.
Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune
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Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Cori Roberts was living in a rented basement four years ago when she was diagnosed with early-stage cervical cancer.
Recently divorced, the former stay-at-home mother had returned to work in her mid-40s, taking a human resources job that paid $41,000 a year. Then, despite having insurance, she was hit with more than $8,000 in medical bills.
“I had my car and a basket of clothes,” Roberts recalled. “Medical bills were not something I could have afforded.”
Roberts sought financial assistance from CentraCare, the St. Cloud-based health system that treated her. It’s a nonprofit charity that receives millions of dollars in federal, state, and local tax breaks. In exchange, it’s obliged to offer charity care to patients who can’t afford their medical bills.
But Roberts said CentraCare told her she made too much to qualify.
Roberts instead scrimped on groceries and Christmas gifts for her kids and paid off more than $6,000 over two years. Then CentraCare sued her last year because she hadn’t paid off all the debt.
“They’re supposed to be a nonprofit,” Roberts said. “It’s like, ‘Come on!’”
This story was a collaboration between KFF Health News and the Minnesota Star Tribune.
A sliver of financial aid
CentraCare earmarks just a tiny fraction of its budget for helping patients with medical bills they can’t pay, but it’s not alone in that, a Minnesota Star Tribune-KFF Health News investigation found.
Minnesota’s hospitals and health systems are among the least charitable in the country, the investigation found, providing less financial aid as a percentage of their operating budgets on average than hospitals in almost every other state.
The investigation drew on a detailed review of every hospital charity care program in the state, an analysis of five years of hospital financial data, and dozens of interviews with patients, hospital executives and state officials.
Nationally, hospitals spend an average of about 2.4% of their operating budgets on charity care, according to federal hospital data compiled by Hossein Zare, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University. Minnesota hospitals spend about a third of that, on average.
CentraCare’s flagship hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota, earmarks only a fraction of its budget for helping patients who can’t pay their medical bills.
Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune
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Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune
Some spend considerably less. Of Minnesota’s 123 general hospitals, 62 devoted less than 0.5% of their operating budgets to charity care from 2020 through 2024, the Star Tribune-KFF Health News investigation found.
“The system is not working,” said Erin Hartung, director of legal services at Cancer Legal Care, a Minnesota nonprofit that helps patients with medical debt and other financial challenges. “And the burden is falling hardest on the people who are least able to bear it.”
CentraCare’s flagship St. Cloud Hospital spent less than 0.25% on charity care, according to the analysis. That works out to $25 in patient aid for every $10,000 spent on hospital operations.
A growing burden
Charity care will become even more vital in coming years as Americans lose health coverage or can’t afford rising copays and deductibles. The nation’s uninsured rate has been ticking up and is expected to increase further as budget cuts pushed by President Trump force states to pare back Medicaid and other safety net programs.
Nationwide, healthcare debt — much of it from hospitals — burdens an estimated 100 million people. And charity care, which was historically aimed at the uninsured, is now critical to many people with health insurance who can’t afford their bills.
Hospital officials say it’s unfair to expect them to solve this affordability problem when many of their facilities are financially strained. “No amount of charity care from hospitals will ever fully meet the needs of uninsured or underinsured Minnesotans. The need is simply too great,” Minnesota Hospital Association spokesperson Tim Nelson said in a statement.
But Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said hospitals have a duty to increase charitable help for all needy patients in exchange for the tax breaks they receive.
“There is a benefit you get from being a nonprofit hospital in the state of Minnesota,” he said. “But do the people get the benefit?”
Several factors help explain why Minnesota hospitals provide so little financial aid. For one, job-based insurance and an expanded Medicaid program offer broad coverage. Hospitals in states with less government assistance and more uninsured people typically spend more on charity care.
Eligibility standards vary
But patients also face significant barriers accessing financial aid at many hospitals, including inconsistent eligibility standards and extensive applications, the Star Tribune-KFF Health News investigation found.
To qualify at many hospitals, patients must submit detailed personal information, including bank statements, retirement accounts, mortgage documents and estimates of other assets such as cars, homes or livestock.
Cori Roberts, who was sued by her healthcare provider after she was unable to make full payments for her treatment, thumbs through copies of her payment records at her home in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune
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Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune
And because Minnesota has not standardized the criteria for charity care, patients might receive aid at one hospital but not another. The investigation found that some hospitals give free care to patients with an annual household income of $47,000, while others cap it at about $15,000.
There are similar variations in charity care standards at hospitals nationwide, KFF Health News and other researchers have found. A recent analysis by the nonprofit Lown Institute found that one hospital in Boston set the limit for free care at less than half the level as another hospital just a few block away.
In Minnesota, had Roberts driven 30 miles east or 35 miles north, she would have found medical providers with more generous financial aid policies than CentraCare. But she didn’t know to look.
Roberts, now 49, has remarried and lives in a split-level home in St. Cloud decorated with inspirational plaques such as “Faith, Family, Friends.” CentraCare recently dropped the lawsuit against her, but only after she took out a loan against her retirement plan to pay off the medical debt. “It just feels very unfair,” she said.
CentraCare spokesperson Karna Fronden said medical privacy laws prevented her from discussing Roberts’ case. She also declined interview requests about the health system’s charity care spending.
In a statement, Fronden said CentraCare provides assistance in addition to charity care, such as helping enroll patients in insurance. “This helps provide broader, longer-term protection for patients,” she said.
Other hospital leaders said they serve their communities in ways besides forgiving medical bills, including training doctors and nurses and preserving money-losing services such as obstetrics and mental health care.
Hospitals in rural communities specifically also play an important role as employers, said Robert Pastor, chief executive of Rainy Lake Medical Center in International Falls, Minn.
“We are the second- or third-largest employer in town, running on razor-thin margins while navigating escalating labor and supply costs and routine underpayment by public programs,” Pastor said. “Meanwhile, many health insurers post billions in profits.”
“Rural hospitals like ours are often portrayed as though we are sitting on piles of cash and simply choosing not to spend it on charity care. That is far from the reality,” he said.
Hospital executives say they have a responsibility to ensure that limited resources for charity care go to patients who need them, said Travis Olsen, chief executive of Hendricks Community Hospital, near the South Dakota border.
Burdensome application process
To determine eligibility, some Minnesota hospitals consider only income, the Star Tribune-KFF Health News investigation found. But most demand information about patients’ bank accounts as well. More than two-thirds require even more information, including the value of retirement accounts, life insurance policies, property and vehicles.
In addition to copies of tax returns, W-2 forms, pay stubs and bank statements, Hendricks asks aid applicants 53 questions about their finances. These include questions about the make, model and value of vehicles; the current market value of farm equipment, livestock and land; and the purchase price and square footage of homes.
Other hospital applications ask patients to detail their monthly spending on food, utilities and other medical bills.
All these questions discourage patients from seeking assistance, said Jared Walker, founder of Dollar For, a nonprofit that helps people apply for charity care.
“The drop-off rates are much higher the more questions you ask and the more documentation you have to provide,” he said.
By contrast, most hospitals make it very easy for patients to click a button on the hospital website to pay their bills, Walker said. “Hospitals have optimized to get payment,” he said. “If you want to get on a payment plan, if you want to get on a credit card, it’s so easy.”
Back in St. Cloud, Roberts said that when she drives past CentraCare’s $200 million expansion at its Plaza campus in St. Cloud, she wonders why Minnesota hospitals don’t live up to higher standards.
“They have all the money,” she said. “But they can’t grant a good person some grace?”
This story was produced by KFF Health News and the Minnesota Star Tribune.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF.
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