Minnesota News Roundup: Boundary Waters Firefighter, Blatnik Bridge and More
Here’s a roundup of recent Minnesota news: officials identified the Alaska firefighter who died battling the Boundary Waters wildfires, Minnesota and Wisconsin unveiled the $1.8 billion Blatnik Bridge replacement design, and more.
Officials identify crew member who died fighting Boundary Waters wildfires
Federal wildland fire officials have identified the crew member who died this week while working to contain wildfires burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for over a month (MPR News, Aug. 13, 2026). Leslie R. Washington, 41, of Noorvik, Alaska, died Tuesday morning, Aug. 11, of a medical emergency while responding to the Bear Trap Fire, which has burned about 30,000 acres in the Boundary Waters north of Ely, between the Echo Trail and the Canadian border (MPR News, Aug. 13, 2026).
Washington was a wildland firefighter for Scorched Earth Services, an Alaska Native-owned company that contracts with the federal government to provide firefighting crews, and was assigned to the company’s 20-person K-River 2 contract crew. He was one of more than 1,000 crew members who have worked to contain the fires in northeastern Minnesota over the past month. “We are heartbroken at the loss of a wildland firefighter who died while protecting others,” U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy said (MPR News, Aug. 13, 2026). Officials have not released details of how Washington died; the U.S. Department of the Interior said it is not releasing additional medical information out of consideration for his family.
New $1.8B Blatnik Bridge design unveiled; opening set for 2031
Minnesota and Wisconsin transportation officials unveiled the design and construction schedule for the new bridge replacing the Blatnik Bridge between Duluth and Superior, Wis. at a public meeting Wednesday evening (MPR News, Aug. 13, 2026). The span will look similar to the original, built in 1961, but with improved safety features: a “tied arch” design on raised piers supporting the roadway 120 feet above the St. Louis River, four lanes of traffic and a 12-foot pedestrian and bike path with scenic overlook alcoves (MPR News, Aug. 13, 2026).
Planning and preliminary work on the $1.8 billion project has been underway for six years, and officials say the design targets a 100-year service life. Demolition of the old bridge begins in March 2027, with the main span removed in 2027 and 2028 and the new span installed by winter 2031. The new bridge will be open to traffic no later than Oct. 31, 2031, with a closure of no longer than 56 months; traffic will be diverted across the Bong Bridge, about five miles southwest of the Blatnik Bridge (MPR News, Aug. 13, 2026). “This is going to be the most robust, the safest bridge we’ve ever done,” said Tom DeHaven, the project’s bridge design manager.
Victims identified in Hopkins daycare murder-suicide
Friends, family and the Hopkins community are mourning daycare operator Kristen Ann Brown and her 7-year-old daughter, Evie, who police believe were killed Wednesday morning in a murder-suicide (MPR News, Aug. 13, 2026). Police suspect Nathan Matthew Brown, the victims’ husband and father, of killing them; he was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. All three were named in a search warrant unsealed Thursday. They died inside Brown Bear Daycare, the facility the family operated out of their Hopkins home (MPR News, Aug. 13, 2026).
In a Facebook post, Kristen Brown said she opened the daycare after having Evie in October 2018, and that her passion for caring for children began when she babysat for neighbors and worked in her mother’s child care center in rural South Dakota. She graduated from the University of Minnesota, where she majored in elementary education foundations and minored in speech-language-hearing sciences (MPR News, Aug. 13, 2026).
Lime bans users, restricts scooters after Minneapolis mass rides
Lime banned some users and placed temporary restrictions on its electric scooters in Minneapolis after hundreds participated in mass nighttime rides over the weekend (MPR News, Aug. 14, 2026). Users reported that after renting scooters Wednesday evening, the app showed geo restrictions preventing riding in downtown Minneapolis or on highways, with scooters limited to 5 mph (MPR News, Aug. 14, 2026).
Lime spokesperson Kelly Harrop said in a statement that users who took scooters onto I-35W during the mass rides were banned from the app, and others who “were deemed to violate our terms of service” were issued warnings. “We will monitor upcoming events closely and issue warnings, fines, and bans to riders who engage in irresponsible riding behavior,” Harrop wrote, adding that Lime is working with the city to implement geofencing for anticipated events. A third mass ride appeared to be planned for Friday night (MPR News, Aug. 14, 2026).
Health insurance rates expected to climb again for 2027
Health insurance premiums for thousands of Minnesotans are expected to increase in 2027, driven primarily by rising healthcare costs, inflation and the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits (MPR News, Aug. 15, 2026). Preliminary rate filings from the Minnesota Department of Commerce show insurers seeking average increases of 10 percent to 13 percent for 2027 individual market plans and 7 percent to 21 percent on the small group market (MPR News, Aug. 15, 2026).
About 200,000 Minnesotans get coverage through the small group market (businesses with two to 50 full-time employees), and around 190,000 are covered by the individual market. Medica has proposed the highest individual market increase at 13 percent, while Blue Plus, HealthPartners and Quartz are requesting between 10 percent and 12 percent. “We had some unprecedentedly high rate increases last year. But these are still on the higher end; they’re over 10 percent, and that’s significant for a lot of Minnesotans,” said Julia Dreier, Minnesota’s temporary commissioner of commerce. Insurers in the ACA marketplace are requesting a median rate increase of about 15 percent nationally — the second consecutive year of double-digit hikes, according to an analysis by KFF (MPR News, Aug. 15, 2026).
For more on the North Star State, see the Minnesota guide.
Sources
MPR News (Minnesota Public Radio); Minnesota Department of Commerce; KFF.