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Northern Minnesota's wildfires have pushed air quality to hazardous levels across much of the state this week, with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issuing alerts covering the metro, Duluth, Brainerd, St. Cloud, and dozens of other communities.

There's still time to save on registration for the 2026 Assisted Living Conference, but not for long. Early bird pricing ends Friday, July 10.

State and federal regulations require nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have emergency plans that describe how they will respond to emergencies, including fires in the building. These same regulations also require facilities to practice those plans.

LeadingAge Minnesota members gathered across the state in June for the association's district meetings, bringing together providers, county leaders, advocacy partners and members for important discussions about the future of aging services in Minnesota.

Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) are a key part of a long-term care facility’s emergency preparedness plan, helping ensure residents can be safely transferred or temporarily sheltered when a facility cannot maintain operations.

Registration is now open for LeadingAge Minnesota’s June district meetings, offering members an opportunity to connect, collaborate and stay informed on key issues impacting aging services across the state.

MDH recently notified nursing homes that submitted proposals in the current moratorium exceptions round of their approval status. All five proposals were approved, representing a total annual state cost of just under $1.1 million.

In a response to concerns about possible increases in eviction filings related to Operation Metro Surge, the St. Paul City Council recently approved a temporary 60-day pre-eviction filing notice ordinance on a unanimous 7-0 vote.

We’re hearing from providers across Minnesota about a shared challenge: strong, committed nursing assistant (CNAs) learners who struggle—not because they can’t do the work, but because training materials don’t fully support how they learn. That’s why OnTrack has expanded support for multilingual learners in CNA programs.

Each year, The Long-Term Care Imperative conducts a Workforce and Financial Conditions survey to gauge key metrics for the aging services sector.

Members have asked practical questions about how to respond if immigration enforcement activity occurs near their communities. LeadingAge Minnesota has expanded its guidance with new FAQs and an updated resource page, bringing all tools together in one place.

Yesterday, CMS at the White House announced that they would be withholding $259 million in federal funds for Minnesota due to “unsupported or potentially fraudulent Medicaid claims.” The amount was based on a review of claims from the fourth quarter of 2025.

The 2025 Legislature created a new rate exception program under Elderly Waiver (EW) to help hospitals discharge high need residents to assisted living and other EW settings. The new program allows for rates that would otherwise exceed the EW budget caps.

On February 10, 2026, LeadingAge Minnesota proudly honored the very best of aging services at our annual Stars Among Us Awards Banquet. For more than 35 years, our Stars Among Us Awards have recognized the individuals and organizations whose leadership, compassion, innovation, and dedication elevate the lives of older adults across Minnesota.

Adult Day Services providers have an important revalidation step to complete in 2026. Last month, high-risk providers, including Adult Day Services, were informed they must complete an off-cycle revalidation by May 31, 2026.

As communities across Minnesota respond to increased immigration enforcement activity and related events, many organizations are navigating heightened concern, questions, and uncertainty. To support members during this time, LeadingAge Minnesota has developed and compiled a set of resources designed to help organizations prepare, respond thoughtfully, and communicate with care.

For years, skilled nursing facilities (SNF) operated in a system where data submitted through the Minimum Data Set (MDS) was largely accepted at face value. Facilities reported, measures were calculated, and reimbursement and public reporting followed. That is ending.

DHS announced this week that, in addition to the provider enrollment freeze for what they have deemed 13 high-risk categories, all claims submitted for services within these categories will be suspended pending pre-payment review. DHS also confirmed high-risk providers will be subject to an off-cycle revalidation process.

As the state continues to battle both substantiated and alleged claims of Medicaid fraud, DHS has announced a freeze on new provider enrollments in 13 categories of Medicaid-funded services as part of efforts to strengthen program integrity and address Medicaid fraud.

As communities across Minnesota respond to increased immigration enforcement activity and related events, many organizations are navigating heightened concern, questions, and uncertainty. To support members, LeadingAge Minnesota is sharing communication templates designed to help organizations respond thoughtfully and compassionately.