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The state pollution control agency said that the air quality should improve for northern Minnesota on Thursday, but that smoke would continue to linger across much of the southern part of the state. And this might not be the last of the smoky skies this year. The possibility of poor air quality in Minnesota and other parts of the United States will continue, said Nick Carletta, one of the lead meteorologists at the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service, “as long as these fires keep on going in Canada.” (Betts and Londono, 6/14)

Five of the 10 dirtiest beaches in California are in San Mateo County, with Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica ranking third worst, according to an annual report from an environmental group. While Linda Mar faces the Pacific Ocean, the other San Mateo County beaches that scored poorly were all located in enclosed areas or along the bay with poor water circulation, according to the 2022-23 report by the nonprofit organization Heal the Bay. The report looks at water quality at beaches from the Tijuana, Mexico, area to Washington state. (Duggan, 6/14)

The St. Louis region will have to work together to implement universal change if it wants to improve public safety and the 911 system. That's according to a new report by Forward Through Ferguson that examines 911 systems and reimagines how the region uses public safety. The report, released Wednesday, laid out several key findings, including that an “inefficient” and “fragmented” 911 system relies on outdated technology and has inconsistent response times. (Lewis-Thompson, 6/14)

�������ýҕ�l Health News: Montana Clinics Chip Away At Refugees’ Obstacles To Dental Care

Yu Yu Htwe had never had dental problems, so she was surprised when a dentist told her she had three cavities at her first appointment in this small city in western Montana. Htwe, 38, is from Myanmar and worked as an OB-GYN there until a military coup overthrew the government in February 2021. Alongside other medical workers, she participated in a civil disobedience movement against the military, and, fearing reprisal, fled the country with her husband and young daughter. (Zurek, 6/15)

Indiana’s Legislature trampled upon the rights of young transgender patients and their parents with a new law aiming to ban them from accessing puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgeries, an attorney told a federal judge Wednesday. A federal judge in Indianapolis made no immediate ruling after hearing about 90 minutes of arguments from the Indiana attorney general’s office and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which is seeking a preliminary injunction that would stop the law from taking effect July 1. The group filed its lawsuit, on behalf of four transgender patients and an Indiana doctor who provides transgender medical treatment, within hours after Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill April 5. (Davies, 6/14)

Trans girls playing in girls sports, Nikki Haley has said for months on the campaign trail, is “the women’s issue of our time.” In Iowa, on the first day of his presidential campaign last week, Mike Pence said he would support a national ban on “radical gender ideology” and gender-affirming health care for transgender kids. (Barclay, 6/14)

Across the country, LGBTQ activists say they have told themselves one thing over and over this year: We’ve been here before. Though some might think social progress is a straight line up, historian Hugh Ryan said policymakers have often moved to curtail rights after periods of social liberation. Ryan, the author of LGBTQ history books including “When Brooklyn Was Queer,” noted that New York passed its first specifically anti-gay law, a cruising ban, 100 years ago, “immediately after [a] moment that is so progressive, it is still referred to as the Progressive Era.” (Parks, 6/14)