As a former chair of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, I am discouraged to see Fairview and M Physicians (UMP) attempting to strike a deal that so clearly weakens long-term health education, research and access in Minnesota.

I believe many aspects of this proposed agreement, from the scant details available publicly, will negatively affect Minnesota’s healthcare landscape for years to come.

First, their proposed funding model will slash investment to an already underfunded Medical School by at least 50%.

Also, it is highly unlikely that any of the proposed “incentive” income will materialize. Similarly, the privatization of UMP will also jeopardize the Medical School’s ability to attract additional State of Minnesota funding, including for a needed new hospital that Fairview cannot finance privately given the condition of its balance sheet.

A lack of investment could drive up Medical School tuition, hamper the recruitment and retention of high-quality students and teaching physicians, diminish life-saving research, and halt the advancement of new technology.

Second, the deal assigns Fairview power over how physicians dedicate their time.

As a result, Fairview could compel physicians to focus more time on clinical practice in service of Fairview’s challenged bottom line — leaving less time (or no time) for teaching and research. The clinical care provided by M Physicians is a huge financial driver for Fairview — both in terms of total revenue and gross margins — and nothing would prevent Fairview from prioritizing that revenue over the University’s critical public-service priorities.

If physicians are forced to prioritize clinical time over teaching, mentorship and research, the innovative and supportive environment that gave rise to the next generation of health leaders and breakthroughs like open-heart surgery, implantable pacemakers, cell therapy for cancer and bone marrow transplants will be at risk.

Instead, the ‘All Minnesota’ plan

President Cunningham’s “All Minnesota” plan, developed in partnership with statewide providers, is the better path. It is a forward-thinking plan that ends the status quo, addresses critical workforce demands, and anticipates the impending number of forced mergers in the healthcare delivery system.

One, it will bring a larger investment to Minnesota healthcare.

The University has already pledged $1 billion over five years, twice as much as Fairview has proposed. Currently, nearly 70% of the state’s physicians and other health professionals train at the University of Minnesota. This plan will lead to more graduates, grads who are more likely to live and work throughout Minnesota, especially in rural communities.

Two, it greatly improves access to all of the University of Minnesota’s academic health programs in all corners of the state — including dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, public health, and veterinary medicine. Patients across multiple providers could seamlessly tap into the University and benefit from the latest medical research as well as clinical trials.

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Three, it will create a necessary size and breadth of a healthcare enterprise that can withstand the incredible current and cascading financial pressures facing the industry.

Fairview publicly stated they cannot support academic health for the state. If they can’t afford to fairly support it, then they must allow other partners to share in the mission. Unlike Fairview’s largely urban model, the University of Minnesota has statewide land-grant obligations — and frankly a big vision — for delivery of integrated health education, research and patient care. Minnesotans deserve the best possible outcome and the University stands ready to deliver.

Regent Emeritus Richard B. Beeson served on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents from 2009 to 2021 and as board chair from 2013 to 2015. He was also a president of Sunrise Banks in St. Paul for 20 years, chair of the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and active on other volunteer boards and committees.

MOORHEAD, Minn. — A Moorhead middle school student arrested Thursday allegedly brought 1,500 pills that could contain fentanyl to Horizon Middle School.

During a press conference Friday, the Moorhead Police Department shared further information about the student’s arrest on suspicion of possessing drugs on school property. Police Chief Chris Helmick said a 13-year-old male student was arrested Thursday for first-degree possession of a controlled substance. He is being held at the juvenile detention center.

“I think we can all agree that this type of criminal activity in our schools is unacceptable, and there are many unanswered questions as to how this could happen,” Helmick said.

The student’s identity and specific details of the case will not be released due to privacy laws, the Moorhead Police Department said.

Helmick said the student was arrested after another student told Horizon Middle School staff that the boy had a large quantity of blue pills. School staff worked with the school resource officer to locate and detain the student suspected of possessing the pills.

Through field testing, detectives from the Moorhead police narcotics unit determined the pills could contain fentanyl. Further lab testing will be required to confirm if the pills contain fentanyl, Helmick said.

Pills of this type are valued at around $25 a pill, he said, making the entire bag worth more than $35,000. Pills of the sort are dangerous for adults, and even more so for children, he said.

“You put that in a child, who is much smaller, and you put that same quantity in them, you’re likely to kill them,” Helmick said.

Moorhead Area Public Schools Superintendent Brandon Lunak said the student who notified school staff of the pills did the right thing.

“Because of their courageous actions of finding somebody and telling somebody something, that they knew something wasn’t right, we were able to take care of this situation effectively and promptly,” Lunak said.

In response to Thursday’s arrest, the Moorhead Police Department will begin conducting regular K-9 searches in Horizon Middle School and Moorhead High School, Helmick said. The department has two K-9 search dogs and plans to add a third in 2026.

“The primary goal of these checks is to deter other incidents like this from occurring in the future,” Helmick said. “However, for anyone who thinks they will be able to bring illegal narcotics into the schools, please know this: you will be caught. And to anyone who thinks they can bring guns or other weapons into schools, you will be caught, as well.”

Helmick became choked up as he continued.

“Dr. Lunak and I are both in agreement that we’ve had enough of this, our parents and our students have had enough of this, and it’s going to stop,” Helmick said.

Earlier this year, Moorhead Area Public Schools had two gun-related incidents at the Moorhead High School Career Academy.

Lunak encouraged parents to talk with their children about the drug arrest and earlier gun arrests.

“Talk to your son or daughter about these events, and talk to them about the severity of them, because at the end of the day, they are also a line of defense for us,” Lunak said. “We need our community, and all the way down to our parents, to also talk to our kids on the importance of making good, sound choices.”

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An Eagan native who was a runner-up on “Survivor” says she left the building mere moments before a shooter dressed in black killed at least two people and wounded nine others at Brown University on Saturday during final exams on the Ivy League campus.

Eva Erickson, an engineering and thermal science student, said she left her lab in the same building minutes before shots rang out.

“I am so so extremely lucky that I was very unproductive at work today,” she posted in an Instagram story while she was locked down in a gym while authorities looked for the shooter.

Around 4 p.m. Erickson said she thought, “Man, I’m just not getting anything done  … and randomly decided I would go to the gym. I never go to the gym in the afternoon. … I was leaving the building within five minutes of the shooter coming in.”

In another post on her Instagram account, Erickson told people she was safe.

“I am safe!!” Erickson wrote.  “Yes, my office at Brown is in the building of the shooting but I was very lucky I left my lab 15 minutes prior to the active shooter alert to go to the gym. I’m currently locked in the school gym sheltering in place until the shooter is (apprehended). The only other member of my lab working in the lab today has safely been evacuated.”

A person of interest in connection with the shooting was in custody Sunday.

The doctoral candidate was a runner up on the CBS TV reality show, “Survivor 48,” which debuted in February of 2025. Erickson was the show’s first openly autistic contestant and shared candid moments with viewers.

In an interview with the Pioneer Press, she said, “I didn’t go onto ‘Survivor’ to try to create this platform to speak about autism. It’s just part of my life. …The world has a lot of misconceptions about autism right now, and it is so important for people like me to share my story so that we can clear those up and help open this conversation and recognize that autism is not something wrong with you, but it is something that is special and unique, and it makes you who you are. It might give you challenges that are different than other people, but it also gives you strength.”

Eagan native Eva Erickson talks about competing on ‘Survivor,’ revealing autism

Erickson graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2022 and was the first and only female player on the school’s hockey team. She’s currently pursuing a PhD at Brown University School of Engineering, where she’s captain of the men’s club hockey team.

The attack Saturday afternoon set off hours of chaos across the Ivy League campus and surrounding Providence neighborhoods as hundreds of officers searched for the shooter and urged students and staff to shelter in place. The lockdown, which stretched into the night, was lifted early Sunday, but authorities had not yet released information about a potential motive.

Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief, said Sunday afternoon that the person in custody was in their 20s and that no one has been charged yet. Perez, who earlier had said the person was in their 30s and that no one else was being sought, declined to say whether the detained person had any connection to Brown.

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The Texas Southern men’s basketball team came into Sunday’s game against the Gophers with one of the worst resumes in Division I.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference team was 1-6, with the lone victory coming over College of Biblical Studies, a Division II school. That’s an hallelujah moment for the Houston school compared to blowout losses to Gonzaga, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt by an average of 41.2 points per game.

The Gophers kept the Tigers down with a 89-53 win at Williams Arena. Minnesota (6-5) improved to 6-0 at home this season.

With Texas Southern (1-6) allowing 86.7 points per game (352nd in the nation), Minnesota set a season record with 15 made 3-pointers.

Cade Tyson scored a career-high 38 points, including a program-tying eight made 3-pointers. He also added 11 rebounds Sunday. When at Belmont, Tyson had 31 points against Samford in Dec. 2023.

The Gophers came into the game at No. 3 in the nation in assists to made field goals (69%) and improved that number Sunday with assists on the opening 26 baskets through the opening 35 minutes.

Langston Reynolds, who is filling in for injured point guard Chansey Willis, had a career-high 11 assists.

Texas Southern (1-6) was allowing 86.7 points per game, which was 352nd in the nation.

In the first half, Tyson scored 23 points, including 5 of 7 from deep, to give the U a 45-25 lead at the break.

In the opening 20 minutes, Minnesota made nine treys in the first half, which matched their season high in a game against Stanford on Nov. 27.

The Gophers will close out nonconference play with two more games: Campbell on Dec. 21 and Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 29. The U restarts Big Ten play with an 18-game stretch on Jan. 3 with a road trip to Northwestern.

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