Curious Minnesota

Listen: Emptying state institutions was supposed to help fix mental health care. What happened?

The Curious Minnesota podcast discusses how the system for community mental health care did not get fully built.

By Eric Roper

The Minnesota Star Tribune
June 18, 2024 at 4:26PM
Fergus Falls State Hospital in 1915. The building, a massive structure spanning a third of a mile, is still standing. Its patient population peaked at about 2,000 during the Great Depression. (Minnesota Historical Society)

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Like many states, Minnesota shuttered the controversial institutions that once housed mentally ill people. But the plan to replace these facilities with new types of treatment options remains incomplete.

Reporter Chris Snowbeck, who wrote a story on this topic, joined host Eric Roper on the Curious Minnesota podcast to discuss the important and complex history of mental health care in Minnesota.

Further reading:

Emptying state institutions was supposed to help fix mental health care. What happened?

Chris Snowbeck’s 2023 series on mental health care: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

about the writer

Eric Roper

Curious Minnesota Editor

Eric Roper oversees Curious Minnesota, the Star Tribune's community reporting project fueled by great reader questions. He also hosts the Curious Minnesota podcast. 

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