Here’s the news before Tim Pawlenty accelerates Minnesota’s race to the bottom:

KBJR: WI Unveils Expanded Health Insurance Program

The contrast is striking. Minnesota throws people out the door while Wisconsin rallies to cover the uninsured.

“To qualify the person must be a Wisconsin resident, have no dependent children living with him or her, and earn less than $1,805 per month, or $2,428 for a married couple.

An applicant also must not currently have health insurance or have had access to insurance offered by an employer in the past 12 months.”

Minnesota Independent: Charities scramble to meet emands as revenues dry up

Another unintended(?) consequence of these draconian budget cuts.

“The Minnesota Council of Nonprofit’s report was released just as Gov. Tim Pawlenty is set to announce his plans for closing the state’s $2.7 billion deficit. It notes that roughly one third of nonprofit groups in the state rely on government funds as their largest source of revenue and that they are almost certain to be adversely affected by Pawlenty’s budget cuts.”

KSTP: St. Paul board could vote on budget, school closures

“The district is facing a projected shortfall of $25 million for the 2009-2010 school year, the largest single-year shortfall the district has faced in more than a decade.”

St. Cloud Times: Jobless look to volunteer

When times get tough, communities come together.

“The recession has caused a spike in volunteerism in the last year, local organization leaders say. People who are unemployed are looking to volunteering as a way to constructively fill their time and network for future jobs.”

Mankato Free Press: Council discusses cuts

“For North Mankato city officials, Monday night was a time for gallows humor, expressions of frustration and a warning to residents that coming years are probably going to bring tax increases even while local government services decline.”

AP: Best Buy 1Q profit drops 15 percent (via MPR)

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Tags: Budget, Charities, Education Cuts, health insurance, property taxes, unemployment, Wisconsin

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 1:42 pm and is filed under Budget, Education, Health Care, Jobs & the Economy, Minnesota Communities, Taxation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.