Minnesota Now Minnesota Public Radio

Residents of Raymond in western Minnesota are returning to their homes following a train derailment in the early hours of Thursday morning that prompted an evacuation of the small town about 90 miles west of the Twin Cities. MPR News reporters Mark Zdechlick and Kirsti Marohn were on the scene and joined MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer to talk about what they heard. Raymond Mayor Ardell Tensen talked about the city’s response and former Minnesota Pollution Control Agency hydrologist Mark Toso answered questions about ethanol spills.

There’s a new book on the shelves from a local author about a real-life mystery. Memorial Day weekend 1971, two 17-year-old girls hopped in an old Studebaker for a kegger in Vermillion, South Dakota. They took a wrong turn near the gravel pits and were never seen again. Lou Raguse is a reporter on KARE 11 and the author of the book ‘Vanished in Vermillion: The Real Story of South Dakota’s Most Infamous Cold Case.’ He joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the case.

Residents of Raymond, Minnesota were evacuated after a train derailed early Thursday morning and some cars caught fire.

A local reporter tells the story of a real-life cold case and what drove him to investigate.

The Minnesota Film Festival is in full swing in Duluth Thursday and runs through the weekend.

Sports guys Wally and Eric talk about the Timberwolves, Wild, and the Twins opener.

The Minnesota Film Festival lasts from March 29 through April 2. The festival features local and international films at the Zeitgeist Zinema theater in Duluth. Program Director Beth Chatelain joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about how the festival has been going so far and what audiences can look forward to.

Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the opening day of the season for the Twins, the Minnesota Wild, and the Timberwolves.

In 2021, 1,286 people in Minnesota died from drug overdoses, according to the Minnesota Department of Health, a 20 percent increase from 2020.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that Narcan nasal spray, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, would soon be available over the counter.

Opioids can cause overdoses by decreasing the urge to breathe, the respiratory drive. During an opioid overdose, people can stop breathing altogether and, if not helped in time, die. But, if Narcan is administered, it goes into the body and removes the opioids from the receptor, engaging breath and saving lives. 

Heather Blue, associate professor of pharmacy for the University of Minnesota Duluth and emergency medicine pharmacist at St. Luke’s Hospital, said making Narcan available over the counter will increase accessibility. She spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about it. 

How do these drugs work?
So when we think about how opioids cause overdose, they sit on the opioid receptors in our body. And while that can provide euphoria and kind of that high, and as well as pain control, part of that opioid receptor can actually decrease your respiratory drive and that urge to breathe. 

So what we see in opioid overdoses is our patients will not breathe, they will not be breathing adequately, or they will stop breathing altogether. When naloxone, or as you mentioned, the brand name Narcan, is administered, it goes into the body and then kind of rips the opioid off of that opioid receptor. 

Then the patient is able to have that drive to breathe, be able to take breaths, as well as it doesn't cause some opioid withdrawal. But what we want that naloxone to do is to allow the patient to be able to breathe, and of course, then prevent a fatal overdose.

How might this decision by the FDA help increase access?
I think making it over-the-counter will really increase the accessibility of the medication for patients as well as patients family members to obtain this and to be able to prevent those fatal overdoses. I should also point out as we're talking about accessibility, that it's not the patient, or the person that is experiencing the opioid overdose that's going to be administering this medication, it is going to be the friends, the family members or the rescue workers that will be administering this medication. 

When it was just a prescription medication, there was some concern of whether or not that prescription should be written for the person that would be most likely to use that versus the patient that wanted to have it available. By going over-the-counter, we've really taken that away and made it available for family members, anyone who wants to have naloxone on hand to hopefully again, reverse that fatal overdose.

How available is this drug right now in rural areas? 
So being that naloxone was only available with a prescription, it really limited where that medication could be. And we know that in our rural Minnesota areas that we do have places that are pharmacy deserts, that it's a long ways away for some of our residents to be able to have a pharmacy.

We don't know exactly where this naloxone over-the-counter will go, but this announcement by the FDA does make it available [and] could be as similar as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, available in stores, grocery stores and gas stations even. 

That can definitely increase the accessibility in our rural areas. Instead of having to go to a doctor and get a prescription or go to the pharmacy to pick up your naloxone, it could be available when you fill up your gas tank.

What about the cost?
That's definitely been kind of the piece today as this announcement comes out. Because we had gotten to a point where insurance companies were covering the prescription naloxone fairly well, and so usually what happens when a medication goes over the counter, a lot of private insurances will not cover over-the-counter products. 

It is really unknown right now where