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City Cast Twin Cities

City Cast Twin Cities

💵 Your insurance might be getting more expensive

October 23, 2025

Hiya Twin Cities! It’s Tiffany. The heat isn’t on in my apartment yet, so I’ve been keeping a warm drink in hand. My favorite right now is the Sweet Corn Steamer from Momo Cafe. It is literally just steamed milk with sweet corn syrup. Reply to this email and let me know what fall drinks you’re enjoying!

What the Cities Are Talking About

An aerial view of the Abbott Northwestern Hospital, with the Minneapolis skyline in the background.
Aerial view of the Abbott Northwestern Hospital in the Phillips neighborhood. (halbergman / Getty Images)

Higher Premiums, Less Choices

Open enrollment for health insurance begins next week, and thousands of Minnesotans will see their insurance premiums increase. The average rate hike for those on the individual market (who don’t buy their insurance through an employer) is about 22 percent, and slightly less for those on small group plans (purchased by a small business), about 14 percent. But that’s just one way health insurance is getting more expensive. [MN Reformer]

  • Losing out on privatized Medicare: 200,000 enrollees, many of them seniors, no longer have access to their health insurance plans. The cause? Health insurance companies like Minneapolis-based UCare are ending their privatized Medicare plans. [Star Tribune]
  • New car, or health insurance for the fam? Nationwide, family insurance premiums reached almost $27,000 this year. As the Kaiser Family Foundation CEO points out, you can buy a new Toyota Corolla Hybrid for less. [Star Tribune]
  • Health insurance hellscape: As someone who still doesn’t really understand how health insurance works, this is how I feel. Imagine you need to find a whole new one because either yours is - poof - gone or just way too expensive.

Also Worth Your Time

🪽 “Angel flights” from red states: We were lucky enough to chat with Em Cassel this week about volunteer pilots flying patients to places where they can get reproductive and gender-affirming care. The number of patients coming to Minnesota from out of state for an abortion tripled between 2020 and 2023. [Racket]

St. Paul's mayor Melvin Carter gives a speech at a podium. In the background, a protester holds a sign that says "Hands Off! Immigrants"
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter at a rally protesting President Trump and Elon Musk’s policies in April. (Christopher Mark Juhn / Getty Images)

🧑‍⚖️ See you in court: St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Ramsey County have joined a lawsuit against the Trump administration for ordering cities to abandon DEI to get emergency grants. The Twin Cities stand to lose about $4 million each. [Pioneer Press]

🍣 How much sushi is too much? In Joy Summers’ food round-up, Sushi Box in Eden Prairie's Asia Mall claims to be the state’s first sushi-by-weight restaurant. Plus, we learn that A to Z Creamery is opening a store in Hopkins. [Star Tribune]

🩷 Feel the love: Jessica Armbruster describes Dyani White Hawk’s work as soothing and striking, and I get it. The Sičáŋǧu Lakota artist’s work is now on display at the Walker Art Center. [Racket]

🚫 No National Guard in Chi: Minnesota joins every state with either a Democratic governor, attorney general (or both) in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to keep Trump from deploying the National Guard in Chicago. [MN Reformer]

What to Do

Thursday, October 23

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*taps mic* Is this thing on? If you’re enjoying our emails, please reply and let us know. I’m needy (and insecure!). See ya tomorrow.

— Tiffany

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