Minnesota
Minnesota Ranks Fifth for Child Well-Being, But Education Scores Continue to Slide
(KNSI) — Minnesota has a mix of good news and concerning metrics in the latest Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Economic wellbeing shows strength, but like many other states, fourth grade reading proficiency is down.
The report shows Minnesota ranks fifth nationally in overall child wellbeing, placing it in the top tier of states and making it the highest-ranking state in the Midwest. Despite this high standing, Minnesota is identified as one of the states where children’s overall wellbeing worsened between 2019 and 2024, experiencing the fifth-steepest decline in the country during that period.
Minnesota’s performance is exceptional for economic wellbeing, ranking second nationally, up two spots from 2025.
Children in poverty: 10% (121,000 children)
Parents lacking secure employment: 20% (251,000 children)
High housing cost burden: 20% (257,000 children)
Teens not in school and not working: 4% (14,000 teens)
The state ranks fifth for health, down one spot from last year.
Low birth-weight babies: 7.5%
Children without health insurance: 4%
Child and teen death rate: 24 per 100,000
Overweight or obese children and teens: 25%
Child and teen deaths rose 8% between 2019 and 2024. Low birth-weight babies ticked up slightly. Youth obesity improved slightly after spiking during the pandemic. Health insurance coverage held steady at 94%. On the mental health front, nearly one in five high schoolers experienced major depression in 2023.
The state ranks fourth in family and community, with kids growing up in strong, supportive environments, up from seventh last year.
Children in single-parent families: 28%
Household heads lacking a high school diploma: 6%
Children living in high-poverty areas: 3%
Teen birth rate: 7 per 1,000
The state falters in education, ranking 21st, down from 17th last year.
Young children (ages 3 and 4) not in school: 55%
Fourth graders not proficient in reading: 69%
Eighth graders not proficient in math: 66%
High school students not graduating on time: 16%
Overall, proficiency levels declined dramatically, essentially undoing a decade of progress. Nationally, fourth graders not proficient in reading rose from 66% to 70%, while eighth graders not proficient in math jumped from 67% to 73%. These indicators are closely tied to future workforce readiness and economic success.
Despite significant pandemic disruptions, the national rate of high school students graduating on time was the only education measure that did not lose ground, improving slightly from 86% to 87%.
The Kids Count Data Book ranks Minnesota among the top states for child wellbeing, but education remains an area where the state continues to lose ground.
The full report is available here.
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The Minnesota Lynx fell to the Connecticut Sun 90-89 on Monday night. Brittney Griner scored a season-high 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Kennedy Burke added 16 points off the bench, including two 3-pointers in the final three minutes for the Sun.
Burke made a 3-pointer with 2:53 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Sun a five-point lead, and Griner added a shot in the lane with 1:25 left to make it 84-79.
Burke sank a wide open 3-pointer from the top of the key with 44.5 seconds left for an 87-84 lead. Then, former Lynx forward Diamond Miller made a key block for Connecticut and Griner sealed it on a layup with 18.2 seconds left for another five-point advantage.
Leila Lacan had 13 points and Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 10 points and eight rebounds for Connecticut (5-16), which won its second road game of the season.
Kayla McBride scored 28 points for Minnesota (15-6) and Courtney Williams had 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Natasha Howard scored 18.
Minnesota was without Napheesa Collier (left ankle) and Olivia Miles (right calf). Dorka Juhasz made her season debut and finished with three points in 25 minutes.
Griner scored 13 points in the first half to help Connecticut build a 48-44 lead.
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve’s second attempt to become the WNBA’s career wins leader came up just short. The next chance will come Wednesday when Minnesota plays at Connecticut. Reeve is tied with Mike Thibault at 379 regular-season victories.
Up next
The teams play again on Wednesday in Connecticut.
Police are investigating after a man was arrested and another was injured in a shooting in Oakdale, Minnesota, on Thursday, according to officials.
Officers responded to a home on the 700 block of Gershwin Avenue around 10:24 p.m. for a report of an individual suffering from a gunshot wound. Police at the scene said they found a 32-year-old man who had been shot in the abdomen. He was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Witnesses, according to police, said the injured man was standing near a bonfire in the backyard of the residence when he was hit by gunfire.
The officers weren’t able to find any suspects after they set up a perimeter and searched the area with help from several other law enforcement agencies.
Officials said police on Friday night arrested a 64-year-old Oakdale man in connection with Thursday’s shooting. Oakdale Police Chief Nick Newton said he was booked and later released.
Neighbors along a three-block stretch in St Louis Park, Minnesota, say vandals smashed car windows early Sunday morning along Quentin Avenue.
A spokesperson for the City of St. Louis Park said officers took 18 reports of vehicle tampering and stolen property around 5 in the morning. The city wouldn’t confirm how many cars were hit, but said the investigation is ongoing.
“I was just pulling out and I had to swerve and avoid all the glass on the street because most cars on this block had their windows smashed,” said Nachshown Fertel.
While Fertel’s car wasn’t damaged, a car parked across the street was smashed across the windshield. Two others were missing windows.
“Obviously, it’s expensive to repair and we don’t know who did it,” Fertel said. “We all have Ring cameras, but since most of them were on the street, only a few people caught glimpses of it.”
Two blocks away, WCCO talked to a man with four damaged cars sitting outside his home. He said all the windows on his family cars were smashed early in the morning, but no one got away with anything valuable. He called the whole ordeal upsetting.
Aharon Harkavy spent part of Sunday cleaning up shattered glass in his driveway. He said neighbors have had issues with stolen cars and some break-ins in the past, but this string of damage felt like an escalation.
“This needs to stop, the police need to really do something about it,” he said.
Back in May, Minneapolis police were investigating a string of break-ins on the southwest side of the city. That followed 30 cars hit by vandals in April over an 8-hour span. Last summer in Minneapolis, there were roughly 475 vehicle break-ins in 30 days between July and August.
Fertel said many of his neighbors in St. Louis Park attend the same synagogue and the community came together to help with repairs.
“I went over to the rabbi and I said, ‘Can we start a fund?’” Fertel explained. “I got a few people to donate. We pulled together some funds to help people pay for the damage.”
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