The start of Minnesota United’s 10th season in MLS comes with a large amount of turnover that churns up big questions.

In 2025, the Loons set a club record of 58 points and reached the Western Conference semifinals for a second straight postseason. The bar has been firmly set.

But since November, Minnesota has seen its head coach, Eric Ramsay, exit for a return home to England to coach a second-tier club, West Bromwich Albion; reigning MLS goalkeeper of the year, Dayne St. Clair, leave in free agency for MLS super club Inter Miami; and United’s MLS-era leading goal scorer, Robin Lod, depart for a longer contract with Chicago Fire.

The newcomers include longtime assistant Cameron Knowles promoted to head coach; former Miami ‘keeper Drake Callender stepping into net; and the shocking signing of Colombian superstar James Rodriguez on a short term deal to the FIFA World Cup in June and perhaps through the rest of the MLS season in December.

The Loons’ anniversary season starts at Austin FC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and here are four burning questions going into the campaign:

Can MNUFC maintain its top-tier status?

Pundits league-wide have responded with a resounding no.

As a collective, the predictions don’t have MNUFC falling off a cliff this season, but the consensus is Minnesota will take at least one step backward over these upcoming 34 matches.

“People will always see things from the outside and internally we have a really driven group of players,” Knowles said this week. “We have guys that have high expectations. We have guys that are at various points in their careers, some that are coming in young, hungry, ready. Others that are getting toward the end that are desperate to have a chance to win something.

“The statement of intent from the players through the course of preseason is that they have attacked every moment and stacked a lot of good days together. They went after the preseason games as if they were regular-season games and I’m excited to see what happens when the whistle blows come Saturday. I think we have a really motivated group.”

What style of play will Knowles implement?

The new head coach wants to make “subtle changes” to the style Ramsay had success with over two seasons: a compact defensive structure, with an ability to score on set pieces.

Where Knowles wants to put the biggest fingerprint on the team is with a higher line of confrontation and in purposeful possession. A year ago, Minnesota was dead last in MLS in possession (39.7%) and their low block defending was considered by supporters of Seattle Sounders, whom MNUFC bounced out of the playoffs, to be a crime against soccer.

“We are trying to get them to be a little bit more aggressive higher up the field in the way they defend, trying to use the ball better, control the game with the ball a little bit better,” Knowles said.

The Loons went 1-1-1 across three preseason matches, and in those friendlies, Knowles showed he favors a four-man back line instead of the five Ramsay used during his two seasons.

Can new players seamlessly replace the old ones?

This is to be determined.

Callender won’t have the same elite shot-stopping ability that St. Clair showed over his MNUFC tenure, but the aim is to make that difference as negligible as possible.

The Loons traded for attacking midfielder Tomas Chancalay from New England around the same time Lod picked Chicago. Lod was a versatile playmaker for MNUFC for half a decade, while Chancalay continues to search for the form he had before an ACL tear in mid-2024.

The Loons also went within MLS to add central midfielder Peter Stroud and right back Kyle Duncan, who were both previously with New York Red Bulls. Both veterans who should be able to slide in.

MNUFC made one other international addition in 21-year-old Colombian winger Mauricio Gonzalez but he has yet to receive his work visa and will likely need more time to acclimate to a new league and country.

What will James provide Minnesota?

This question comes last, but is far from least important.

MNUFC’s objective to be more on the front foot offensively comes hand in hand with how much the former Real Madrid and Bayern Munch No. 10 can provide on the field.

The quality the UEFA Champions League winner has within his left foot is not debatable, but how much he has left in his 34-year-old legs will be watched closely as he prepares for what is expected to be his final World Cup.

“I’m in a stage where I can’t fail, where I have to do things right,” James said in Spanish at his introductory news conference in early February. “I’m very focused on that. It’s true and everyone was right that (getting ready for the World Cup) was one of the big reasons I was able to come here. The club made it clear that they can help me with that.”

The Loons will be asking Rodriguez to be a two-way player, so his willingness to defend will be part of the criteria to be a fulcrum on the field.

Rodriguez received his work visa this week, but he did not travel with team to Texas on Wednesday, putting a debut Saturday in serious doubt. The next opportunity will be in the home opener at Allianz Field on Feb. 28 vs. FC Cincinnati.

The Loons have only 15 league games before the World Cup break in June and will need to determine before that if they will exercise Rodriguez’s contract option for the rest of the season.

Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, an urban fantasy series that has sold more than 14 million copies in the U.S., as well as the Codex Alera and Cinder Spires novels. His latest Harry Dresden book, “Twelve Months,” is out this week, five years after the last installment. The author is appearing at San Diego’s Mysterious Galaxy today for a sold-out event to launch this 18th book in the series. Butcher took the Q&A to talk about the book and his reading life.

Q. Please tell readers about your new Dresden Files book, “Twelve Months.”

“Twelve Months” is the 18th book of the Dresden Files, an urban fantasy series I managed to sell with the elevator pitch of “Dirty Harry Potter.” Its lead character is Harry Dresden, a professional wizard operating out of the city of Chicago in a world where ghouls, ghosts, werewolves and vampires exist in the shadows of modern society.

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In this story, the city of Chicago has been recently devastated by supernatural war. Harry Dresden is one of the supernatural players still standing in the aftermath of the battle and must contend with the grief of loved ones lost and grapple with the despair of a lifetime of paranormal conflict while struggling to balance his new life as a father, a political engagement to a vampire queen, while he strives to remain a stable pillar of the supernatural community and rescue his brother from an almost certain death sentence.

He’s barely a shadow of himself after recent events, but his enemies and the challenges of his world are not going to wait for him to regain his balance. Harry and his longtime friends and allies must find a way to carry forward in the aftermath of the Battle of Chicago.

Q. What are the biggest challenges of writing a series – and the benefits?

After 25 years, 18 novels, and two anthologies of short stories, it can get difficult to track the large cast of characters and the many convoluted plot events. I’ve been very fortunate to work with dedicated beta readers, and for the raw enthusiasm of many fans who, among other things, built a Dresden Files wiki that encompasses the series in far more detail than I’m confident I could have managed on my own.

Q. Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?

“Watchers,” by Dean Koontz, virtually any Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker, “Honor of the Queen,” by David Weber, the Belgariad by David Eddings, and (inevitably) the Unorthodox Chronicles by my son, James J. Butcher, and the Blood Trail novels by my wife, Jennifer Blackstream.

Q. Do you remember the first book that made an impact on you?

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis. It was my very first novel, picked up from a wire shelf at the local grocery store on a whim, and it ignited a love of fantasy that has lasted all my life.

Q. Is there a book or type of book you’re reluctant to read?

Anything that gives good financial advice, apparently.

Q. Do you have any favorite book covers?

“The Dresden Files Omnibus Edition #3, Wizard at Large,” hands down.  It features Dresden, carrying his wizard staff and wearing his black leather duster while riding a zombie T.rex animated from the bones of Sue, the famous T.rex at Chicago’s Museum of Natural History. I think it’s a great encapsulation of the series as a whole.

Q. Are you someone who must finish every book you start – or is it OK to put down the ones you don’t connect with?

I’d love to say I can put one down before I finish and that I think that’s OK—I’d really like that to be true. But the reality is that if I don’t finish a book, I feel guilty about it, so they really become kind of a commitment.

Q. What’s your comfort read?

“The Hobbit,” by Tolkien.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a significant loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda.

The 6-3 decision centers on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.

It’s the first major piece of Trump’s broad agenda to come squarely before the nation’s highest court, which he helped shape with the appointments of three conservative jurists in his first term.

The majority found that the Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress the power to impose taxes, which include tariffs. “The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

“The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history, and precedent, they are clearly lawful,” Kavanaugh wrote in the dissent.

The tariffs decision doesn’t stop Trump from imposing duties under other laws. While those have more limitations on the speed and severity of Trump’s actions, top administration officials have said they expect to keep the tariff framework in place under other authorities.

The Supreme Court ruling comes despite a series of short-term wins on the court’s emergency docket that have allowed Trump to push ahead with extraordinary flexes of executive power on issues ranging from high-profile firings to major federal funding cuts.

The Republican president has been vocal about the case, calling it one of the most important in U.S. history and saying a ruling against him would be an economic body blow to the country. But legal opposition crossed the political spectrum, including libertarian and pro-business groups that are typically aligned with the GOP. Polling has found tariffs aren’t broadly popular with the public, amid wider voter concern about affordability.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to levy tariffs. But the Trump administration argued that a 1977 law allowing the president to regulate importation during emergencies also allows him to set tariffs. Other presidents have used the law dozens of times, often to impose sanctions, but Trump was the first president to invoke it for import taxes.

Trump set what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on most countries in April 2025 to address trade deficits that he declared a national emergency. Those came after he imposed duties on Canada, China and Mexico, ostensibly to address a drug trafficking emergency.

A series of lawsuits followed, including a case from a dozen largely Democratic-leaning states and others from small businesses selling everything from plumbing supplies to educational toys to women’s cycling apparel.

The challengers argued the emergency powers law doesn’t even mention tariffs and Trump’s use of it fails several legal tests, including one that doomed then-President Joe Biden’s $500 billion student loan forgiveness program.

The economic impact of Trump’s tariffs has been estimated at some $3 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Treasury has collected more than $133 billion from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law, federal data from December shows. Many companies, including the big-box warehouse chain Costco, have already lined up in court to demand refunds.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

By Katheryn Houghton, Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez, KFF Health News

Leonard Bighorn said his mother tried for two years to get help for severe stomach pain through the limited health services available near her home on the Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana.

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After his mom finally saw a specialist in Glasgow, about an hour away, she was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, Bighorn said.

Now, 16 years after his mother’s death, Bighorn has access to regular screenings for cancer and other specialty care that she didn’t have, through a health insurance program the Fort Peck Tribes created in 2016. The program, which covers most of the costs for the roughly 1,000 tribal citizens enrolled, is among a growing number of tribally sponsored health insurance programs.

Such programs vary by tribe, but they essentially screen and enroll people living within tribal boundaries in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. They allow participating Native Americans flexibility to go to outside doctors and clinics when care through the Indian Health Service is unavailable.

“I’d be in a bind otherwise,” said Bighorn, a 65-year-old tribal game warden and member of the Dakota community.

But the Fort Peck Tribes now limit who has access to that coverage. Nearly 400 miles to the west, the Blackfeet Nation recently stopped enrolling people in a similar program, warning that funding will run out before the end of the year. Other tribal organizations that offer Native Americans similar coverage are struggling with rising costs, too.

The financial crunch began when congressional lawmakers allowed enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act to expire on Dec. 31. Those tax credits, created under the Biden administration during the covid-19 pandemic, expanded subsidized health coverage for millions of people. By late 2025, ACA plans saw about 24 million enrollees, more than twice the number of pre-pandemic annual sign-ups. The cost of coverage shot up for most of those people as the expanded subsidies expired, and enrollment so far has dropped by more than 1 million people, according to federal health officials.

The subsidies had also boosted tribal health insurance programs, like the one Bighorn is enrolled in. The programs pay the price of each person’s share of premiums after subsidies, and the coverage lowers patients’ treatment costs. Now that premium prices have ballooned, so have tribes’ costs.

Rae Jean Belgarde, who directs Fort Peck Tribes’ program, said the higher costs leave the tribes with one option at this point: “Start limiting who gets help.”

The tribes are helping people shift to other insurance options and, in some cases, find state programs to cover their premiums. Tribal leaders also sent a letter to Montana’s all-Republican congressional delegation asking them to support extending the subsidies.

“Our program is saving lives,” the letter read. Belgarde said she didn’t know whether the lawmakers responded.

Scrambling for Solutions

U.S. House members approved a temporary extension of the enhanced subsidies in January. But that measure stalled in the Senate. Lawmakers are scrambling for an alternative after President Donald Trump threatened to veto an extension if a bill reaches his desk. On Jan. 15, the president released an outline of a health care proposal that includes creating savings accounts for people to pay their health costs — an idea Senate Republicans previously floated as an alternative to the subsidies.

A.C. Locklear, CEO of the National Indian Health Board, a nonprofit that works to improve health in Native communities, said tribes are “looking at ways to cut back just as much as everyone else.”

Native Americans as a group continue to face disproportionately high rates of chronic diseases. Their median age at death is 14 years younger than that of white Americans.

“Reducing access to even just general primary care has a significant impact on those disparities,” Locklear said.

Tribal leaders have said letting the subsidies expire further undermines the federal government’s duty to ensure adequate care for Native Americans.

In exchange for taking tribal land through colonization, the U.S. government made long-standing promises to provide for the health and well-being of tribes. Native Americans are guaranteed free health care at clinics and hospitals operated or funded by the Indian Health Service. But that agency’s chronic underfunding has created massive blackouts in care. It sometimes pays for patients’ outside care through its Purchased/Referred Care program, but that’s limited too. Due to funding shortfalls, the agency prioritizes which treatments it will pay for.

To help fill the coverage gaps, some tribal nations have built their own health insurance programs. When tribes pay health premiums, clinics and hospitals in their areas can bill for services that might otherwise go unpaid. Some tribes have leveraged that money to expand services.

“I don’t see tribes getting rid of these programs,” Locklear said. “But it will drastically shift how much tribes can really put back in their community.”

For example, Tuba City Regional Health Care Corp., in northern Arizona within the Navajo Nation, is unique in providing comprehensive cancer treatment on a reservation, Locklear said. The corporation, he said, estimates its costs to cover patients this year are increasing by roughly 170% to nearly $38,000 per month without the enhanced subsidies.

One of the newer programs is on the Blackfeet reservation in northwestern Montana, where basic health services can be hard to find. Medical visits are often offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and services vanish when staff positions go unfilled, said Lyle Rutherford, a Blackfeet Nation council member.

“Some of it is just getting a regular eye appointment, or a primary care appointment,” Rutherford said.

The tribe has been slowly building its health insurance program since launching it in 2024. Rutherford said the enhanced subsidies made that possible. Fewer than 400 people are enrolled out of an estimated 3,000 who qualify. The tribe halted new enrollments about two months ago because of the pending expiration of subsidies and shifted its healthier members to lower-cost plans.

“At this point in time, we just have to hold off,” Rutherford said. “Premiums have increased by 100-plus percent.”

He said tribal leaders are seeking extra funding to keep the program afloat, and he hopes Congress finds a solution.

Lives on the Line

The impact goes beyond tribes’ insurance programs. The Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based economic and social policy research nonprofit, estimates that 125,000 Native Americans will become uninsured in 2026 due to the higher costs.

Patients at the Oyate Health Center in Rapid City, South Dakota, are already reporting sky-high premium increases for ACA plans. CEO Jerilyn Church said it’s too soon to know how many will forgo coverage. But she said more uninsured patients would further strain the IHS Purchased/Referred Care program — with officials raising the bar for how sick patients must be to cover care outside of tribal health sites.

“There will be people that will not be able to get the care they need,” Church said, adding that could translate to “people losing their lives.”

Bighorn, the game warden on the Fort Peck Reservation, is among those still covered by the tribes’ insurance program. He has put it to use.

Soon after enrolling, Bighorn needed two hip replacements, surgeries that require off-reservation care and are ranked as low-priority procedures by the Indian Health Service. Bighorn said that in pre-surgery tests, specialists found the cause for his long-standing, dangerously high blood pressure. The diagnosis: untreated lifelong asthma and sleep apnea.

“I was a miserable man, tired all the time,” he said.

Without the tribe’s coverage, Bighorn may have eventually gotten those diagnoses but said it would have likely taken years to get help through the Indian Health Service. That would have meant getting much sicker before receiving care.

KFF Health News correspondent Arielle Zionts contributed to this report.

©2026 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.