‘Cover Stories’ Archives
Don’t Miss Out on Medicare Benefits
By JETTA WIEDEMEIER BOWER for the Senior LinkAge Line Barbara B. lives in Minneapolis, and she got a chair for her husband that helps him stand up after sitting in it and a button to wear around his neck to call for help if he needs it. She got these things because she called the Senior Linkage Line® to ask for help with getting Medicare benefits. “There are people out there who just don’t know what’s available to them,” Barbara says. “Older people worked hard for years, and we deserve these benefits.” Janice H., also of Minneapolis, says there are a lot of people in her African American community who don’t know about Medicare. “They assume it’s not for them because they don’t quite understand it,” she says. “And they don’t realize that a lot of services and benefits are available at no cost.” As the volunteer and outreach manager for the Senior LinkAge Line, I can tell you that Barbara and Janice are right. And that’s why we work to get [...]
After Decades of Poor Air in Phillips, Proof: Pollutants Harm Health
MN 2023 Law Prompts Change: where over 40% are non-white & over 40% limited English, and/or 35% low income By H. LYNN ADELSMAN & ROB HENDRICKSON Map above by Rob Hendrickson. With severe wildfire smoke covering much of the country this June, air quality is back in the headlines, but some of the most hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) have been present in our neighborhoods for decades. This past spring, a statewide law passed (HF637) requiring the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to consider the cumulative impacts of air pollution before adding to the burden, also known as the Frontline Communities Protection Act.Cumulative impacts are the total combinations of chemical and non-chemical emissions across space and time that cause disease and affect health, well-being, and quality of life outcomes. This new bill requires analyzing existing levels of pollution before issuing air quality permits in areas like Phillips that are over 40% non-white, 40% limited [...]
Dr. Fardin Oliaei, ‘Whistle Blower’ Has Same Warning, 20 Years Later
By MAXIME GROEN, Women’s Environmental Institute With recent headlines that read “I was exposed to these chemicals and… I will die with this cancer,”, ”How can I avoid eating food with ‘forever chemicals?”, and “There must be something in the water,” there’s a warning, and they all have to do with something called PFAS.Over the past 20 years, PFAS is a term that has been increasingly discussed in corporate offices, the media, Congress, and even hospital rooms.What exactly are PFAS? Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS for short, are a class of chemical compounds that were created by humans in the 1940s. PFAS has been used in the manufacturing of cookware, cosmetics, carpeting, fast food wrappers, sunscreen, fire extinguishing foam, and many more everyday products. These chemicals do not break down over time and, instead, accumulate in peoples’ bodies and the environment, giving them the nickname “forever chemicals.” However, despite evidence [...]
