Jill Burcum
Editorial Columnist
HealthcareBurcum has been an editorial writer since March 2008, joining the Editorial Board after working in the newsroom as an editor and reporter. She is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for editorial writing. "Not This Mine. Not This Location," which focused on copper mining’s risk to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, was recognized in 2020. Her "Separate and Unequal" series on dilapidated Bureau of Indian Education schools was a finalist in 2015, and she also testified before Congress that same year about these schools' poor condition. Burcum graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington in 1991 and started her career as a reporter for the Rochester Post-Bulletin. She previously worked for Mayo Clinic and Ican Inc.
Latest from Jill Burcum
Burcum: Running toward, not away from, the battle over vaccines
Minnesota’s Mike Osterholm is meeting a regrettable moment — the threat posed to vaccines by unqualified federal leadership — with the new Vaccine Integrity Project.
April 29, 2025
Burcum: About that so-called ‘pill penalty’
Flyers urge consumers to take action beneficial to the pharmaceutical industry. But the campaign completely misses the bigger threat to new drug development: massive research cuts.
April 27, 2025
Burcum: Cosplay Kristi preens instead of fixing a grievous error
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s prison photo op hits differently now that we know at least one prisoner is wrongly held.
April 18, 2025
Burcum: Harmful cuts risk our state’s elite disease-fighting forces
Funding alternatives are vital to avoid loss of this public health “crown jewel.” The chaotic handling of layoffs at the Minnesota Department of Health warrants legislative auditor review.
April 14, 2025
Burcum: A worthy political legacy: permanent Boundary Waters protections
Sen. Tina Smith strikes a sensible balance with a historic bill to safeguard northeast Minnesota’s fragile watery wilderness from copper mining pollution.
April 11, 2025
Burcum: Klobuchar helps Congress rediscover its spine
A just-passed Senate resolution seeking to undo new tariffs on Canada hopefully emboldens the legislative branch to re-embrace its checks-and-balances role.
April 4, 2025
Burcum: ‘We’re doing this for Gavin’
It’s time for Minnesota to screen for MLD, a rare disease. A Winona family and their legislative champion are pushing to add it to routine newborn testing.
April 2, 2025
Burcum: Would you pay an extra $10 a year to aid rural ambulances?
Two legislators offer a bold solution: a small monthly fee on cellphone lines to ensure prompt emergency responses.
March 28, 2025
Burcum: Social Security changes will go ‘very very badly’
A commendably blunt Sen. Amy Klobuchar sounds the alarm about staff reductions and changes impacting Social Security enrollment.
March 24, 2025
Burcum: A Minnesota second opinion on measles
As an outbreak centered in Texas continues, Dr. Beth Thielen, a pediatric infectious disease physician, weighs in on the risks and addresses alternative treatments.
March 23, 2025
Should state pay for newly required insurance benefits?
Bipartisan bill targets popular coverage expansions that drive up health insurance costs.
March 15, 2025
Burcum: Smith Foundry report shows need for scrutiny
The feds found air quality violations before the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency did. A recent legislative auditor’s review should trigger a hearing at the state Capitol to rebuild public trust.
March 7, 2025
