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A Natrona County court struck down three of the state’s abortion restrictions. This doesn’t change much on the ground, since the laws were already temporarily blocked, but it does make them unconstitutional. (Merzbach, 6/12)

Pregnancy, birth rates, and sexually transmitted infections among Minnesota teenagers dropped significantly in 2024, continuing a decades-long downward trajectory, according to a new report by researchers at the University of Minnesota. But the study finds that there also continues to be sharp racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities in these rates here that are among the most stark in the country. (Work, 6/14)

State oversight failures exposed in a Tribune investigation drove a package of major changes to state law aimed at better protecting patients from sexual abuse or other inappropriate conduct by doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers. (Hoerner and Schencker, 6/12)

The village of Oak Park shut down the West Suburban Medical Center building Thursday, after the hospital’s last functioning elevator stopped working — forcing the remaining patients there to find care elsewhere. (Schencker, 6/12)

The Refinery Risk Map, developed by researchers at PSE Healthy Energy and academic partners, combines emissions data, air pollution modeling and health impact estimates for nearly every oil refinery in the contiguous United States. The tool includes Mountain West refineries in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. (Roedel, 6/12)

California legislator Jesse Gabriel has made a name for himself with a suite of bills aimed at reducing the health harms of ultra-processed food. So it might seem counterintuitive that inside his office is a pillow shaped like a bag of Skittles, complete with the brand’s iconic upside-down rainbow and a few oversized felt candies peeking through a clear plastic window. (Todd, 6/15)