Minnesota's latest effort to fight abuse of heroin and other opiates brings together a range of government departments and health care providers. The health, public safety, human services, and education departments are all involved. So are doctors, since many addictions grow out of the painkillers they prescribe.

Immigrants and refugees often arrive in good health, but within a generation many of them are suffering from obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other common problems. In what MPR calls a "first-of-its-kind collaboration," Mayo Clinic is partnering with community organizations to teach new arrivals to Minnesota about the importance of diet and exercise.

Jen Anderson was a motivational speaker who raised tens of thousands of dollars to help find a cure for cancer. An annual fundraising bike ride in the Twin Cities area was started in her honor. Anderson's fight with cancer lasted six years. She once said "Giving up is so easy. It's the choosing to fight every day that is the real challenge."

The Basilica of St. Mary is just one of the 25 metro sites receiving preservation grants from Partners in Preservation. The organization funds restoration of historical sites throughout the nation and awarded the Minneapolis cathedral over $100,000.

Republican Senator and Finance Committee Chairman David Hann accuses the Democratic governor of going around a state law that would allow him to halt the spending of millions of dollars in federal grants for the state's health-care programs. Hann says he wants more information about how the state would spent the money. Forum Communications reports Dayton's budget office marked the funds "urgent," which means the money wouldn't require legislators' approval.

Readmitting patients too soon after discharge is going to cost two dozen Minnesota hospitals. The hospitals will have to forfeit a small percentage of their Medicare funding -- a result of the new federal health care law, which considers readmissions as a sign the hospital could do a better job at coordinating and following up on patient care.

A consortium of six North Dakota utilities and coal mining companies is chipping in $500,000 to fight Minnesota's ban on energy generated by burning coal. The state's Industrial Commission filed the original lawsuit. The North Dakota legislature is also committing funds for the legal challenge.

Twin Metals Minnesota, a joint venture pursuing the development of an underground copper, nickel and platinum group metals mine in Northeastern Minnesota, announced Tuesday that it has been selected as a recipient of Finance & Commerce's 2012 Progress Minnesota award.