Today is Monday, Sept. 8, the 251st day of 2025. There are 114 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 8, 1986, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” began the first of 25 seasons in national syndication.

Also on this date:

In 1504, Michelangelo’s towering marble statue of David was unveiled to the public in Florence, Italy.

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Today in History: September 7, Anglican church elevates Bishop Desmond Tutu

In 1565, a Spanish expedition established the first permanent European settlement in North America at present-day St. Augustine, Florida.

In 1664, the Dutch surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, who renamed it New York.

In 1900, Galveston, Texas, was struck by a hurricane that killed an estimated 8,000 people; it remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

In 1935, Sen. Huey P. Long, D-La., was fatally shot in the Louisiana State Capitol building.

In 1941, the 900-day Siege of Leningrad by German forces began during World War II.

In 1951, a peace treaty with Japan was signed by 49 nations in San Francisco.

In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first Black tennis player to win the U.S. National Championships, now known as the U.S. Open.

In 1964, public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia, reopened after being closed for five years by officials attempting to prevent court-ordered racial desegregation.

In 1974, one month after taking office, President Gerald R. Ford granted a “full, free, and absolute pardon” to former President Richard Nixon for any crimes committed during Nixon’s presidency.

In 2016, California and federal regulators fined Wells Fargo a combined $185 million, alleging the bank’s employees illegally opened millions of unauthorized accounts for their customers in order to meet aggressive sales goals.

In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II, who spent more than seven decades on the British throne, died at age 96; her then 73-year-old son became King Charles III.

Today’s Birthdays:

Former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Georgia, is 87.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, is 84.
Civil rights activist Ruby Bridges is 71.
Author Terry Tempest Williams is 70.
Basketball Hall of Famer Maurice Cheeks is 69.
Actor Heather Thomas is 68.
Singer Aimee Mann is 65.
Actor Thomas Kretschmann is 63.
Alternative country singer Neko (NEE’-koh) Case is 55.
TV personality Brooke Burke is 54.
Actor Martin Freeman is 54.
Actor David Arquette is 54.
TV-radio personality Kennedy is 53.
Actor Larenz Tate is 50.
Singer-songwriter Pink is 46.
Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas is 44.
Rapper Wiz Khalifa is 38.
MLB pitcher Gerrit Cole is 35.
Actor Gaten Matarazzo (TV: “Stranger Things”) is 23.

A 20-year-old motorcyclist was killed when he hit a barrier at the Huron Boulevard ramp to eastbound I-94 on Friday night.

According to the state patrol, Easton Macoy Yaw Kleven was driving his 2009 Kawasaki EX650 at a “high rate of speed” at the onramp when he crashed into a barrier and was ejected onto the right shoulder of the freeway.

He was pronounced dead in the emergency room a short time later at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

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Medical debt lawsuits across Minnesota have surged to the highest level in five years, according to a new analysis by independent nonprofit Pew.

When patients are unable to pay their medical bills and fall into debt, hospitals and health care providers often turn over that debt to collection agencies, and eventually, they can be sued by the provider or a collection firm for payment.

Lester Bird, a senior manager with Pew Charitable Trusts, said those lawsuits can come with financial repercussions, such as having your wages garnished, and they can also have emotional consequences.

“The impact of having to go to court is huge, right?” he said. “People are scared that they might get arrested or go to jail for these unpaid debts. It’s not true for the most part, but you know, this is the sort of fear people have.”

Minnesota has some protections in place, especially for low-income patients. In October, the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act took effect. It bans reporting medical debt to credit bureaus, prohibits denying necessary medical care to patients because of unpaid bills, and limits wage garnishment of low-income workers, among other reforms. But Bird said Minnesota courts could do more to weed out invalid cases brought against patients.

The Pew analysis, based on data from consulting group January Advisors and the National Center for State Courts, found that the number of medical debt lawsuits filed in Minnesota dropped significantly during the pandemic, but they have now surged back to pre-pandemic levels.

Lawsuits filed for overall consumer debt, including debt from unpaid medical bills, auto loans and credit cards, are also increasing — not just in Minnesota, but across the country. Some experts say these cases are possibly aided by artificial intelligence, which makes it easier for companies to analyze debt that is piling up and file lawsuits quickly.

David McClendon, a senior partner and consultant at January Advisors, said that medical debt cases are likely going up because hospital budgets are tightening, and because patients are no longer receiving pandemic stimulus payments that kept many of them afloat and out of debt in recent years. Hospitals may have also been trying to avoid bad optics when COVID-19 was spreading.

“Suing people during a pandemic was not a good look for a lot of hospitals,” McClendon said.

McClendon said the University of Minnesota’s Fairview Health Services is currently leading the increase in Minnesota, filing more than 4,000 medical debt lawsuits against patients with unpaid bills in 2024. He said Fairview is not only the biggest filer, it’s also increasing its case numbers at the fastest rate.

A Fairview spokesperson told MPR News that litigation is only pursued in rare circumstances — roughly 1% of their clinical bill — and never against patients who have a clear inability to pay.

“We exhaust every possible option to support patients long before considering legal action,” the spokesperson said. “We also believe it’s important to recognize the broader forces driving patient medical debt. While hospitals are often the focus of scrutiny, many of the underlying challenges stem from payer practices — including high-deductible plans, denied or delayed claims and insufficient reimbursement rates — that leave patients caught in the middle.”

Mayo Clinic and Allina Health systems both received flak in recent years for suing patients over medical debt. McClendon said he doesn’t have any records of Mayo Clinic suing patients since 2023, and Allina Health’s lawsuits have gone down significantly since the negative media coverage.

McClendon said one of the biggest hurdles is that patients might not even know to go to court when they’re sued. Sometimes the notice doesn’t get to them, as it is sent to the wrong address, or they assume it’s spam because the letter came from a third-party debt collector they’ve never heard of. And even if they want to fight the charge, McClendon said the hundred or so dollars it can cost in legal fees can be prohibitive.

“Most of these cases are for $1,200, $1,500. If people don’t have $1,200 or $1,500, they don’t have 200 or so dollars to be able to participate in the case in the first place. And so then what happens is that leads to people’s wages being garnished and keeps people in this sort of cycle of poverty,” he said.

Bird said that as the number of these lawsuits increases, this is an urgent moment for legislators, policymakers and court leaders to take action.

He said he wants courts to act as more of a back stop and confirm that the right person is being sued by the right company for the right amount before proceeding.

Bird’s research indicates that many of these cases are inaccurate or missing crucial documents, and shouldn’t even be treated as valid. He also wants to make it easier for patients to defend themselves. Minnesota is a step ahead in this regard since it already requires that patients who successfully defend their lawsuit be compensated for any attorney fees incurred.

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Even though it’s intimidating, Bird said he recommends patients go to court when they’re sued. They might be able to finagle a discount or a payment plan if they participate.

“These companies do negotiate with people,” he said, referring to the hospital or third-party debt collector. “There are fees that can be waived, but it requires a person to show up and engage in the lawsuit.”

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A funeral was held Sunday for an 8-year-old boy with an infectious smile and adventurous spirit who was one of two schoolchildren killed when a mass shooter opened fire on a Minneapolis Catholic church during Mass.

Hundreds of mourners gathered for the service of Fletcher Merkel, wearing bright colors instead of somber black at the request of his family. He had boundless energy and exuded generosity, handing out flowers and trading cards just because, said his aunt, Erin Shermak, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

“His gift to us was the chance to know him and love him,” she said.

The Aug. 27 shooting injured at least 21 others, most of them students at Annunciation Catholic School. Officials have identified the shooter as Robin Westman, 23, a former student armed with a rifle, pistol and shotgun who allegedly fired more than a hundred rounds through the windows of the church just before 8:30 a.m. Westman was found dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot.

A service for Harper Moyski, the 10-year-old girl who was also killed in the shooting, will be held Sept. 14 in Minneapolis. An obituary described the girl as “pure magic,” a dog lover who dreamed of becoming a veterinarian one day.

Speakers at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church on Sunday choked back tears to smile and laugh in honor of Fletcher’s brief life. They held funeral programs featuring his portrait, with the words: “Forever loved, child of God.”

Mourners talked about his love of fishing, something he often did with his dad Jesse, and how he made friends wherever he went.

Fletcher was “always in motion,” a child who loved playing sports and trying out new foods, like pickled herring, according to his obituary.

He was recently and briefly on-air at a local radio station when his mother Mollie called in so Fletcher and other children could give their best impression of fireworks for a contest.

Besides his parents, he leaves behind two brothers and a sister and his dog, Clementine.

Mourners included Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen.

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