This is City Cast Twin Cities. I'm Shawn McPherson and here's what the cities are talking about.
Gary Hines, who is a legend that you wish you would have the chance to see during their lifetime?
One of them would be certainly the late great Art Tatum. Even Vladimir Horowitz and so and Sergei Rachmaninoff. So many of the great classical pianists said that he was the greatest to sit behind the piano like ever.
Yeah, I've heard people say the best orchestra in the world was Art Tatum's hands, which I think is a fitting description of what he could do. Gary Hines, no slouch behind the piano as well. He is the music director and producer of the three-time Grammy Award-winning group Sounds of Blackness, and we'll be talking about a new single from Sounds of Blackness and a timely one, I should mention, something you can harmonize about but then also do your civic duty about, which is pretty awesome.
Later in the episode, we'll be talking about the three big hospital mergers that Minnesota is facing, and we'll hear from organizers who are pushing for a contractual agreement to help keep healthcare costs affordable under those changes. And at the end of the show, we'll be joined by City Cast contributor Tane Danger to have a conversation with Kara Swisher. Swisher will be in town on Wednesday, November 4th to record a post-election episode of the podcast Pivot with her co-host Scott Galloway.
Now before we get into all of that, we wrapped up our fall member drive, and thank you so much to the folks who became neighbors. Welcome to the fold, Alan V, Catherine F, Richard M, Laura L, David C, and Ali K. Got a really nice note from Catherine who said she joined because, quote, 'the team is cool, duh, the coverage is great, and it's relevant to my life here in the Twin Cities. I like being in the know about news and events and random wonderful things.' Well, Catherine, your note was a random wonderful thing, and we appreciate everybody who joined Catherine and decided to spend their hard-earned money on City Cast Twin Cities. And even if you didn't become a member this time, we thank you for sticking with us. And Gary, take some notes here because we got a great jingle that was done by our creative producer Adam Sage that helps everyone remember the website to visit to become a member. Let's hit it.
Membership.thecitycast.fm/twincities
Gary Hines, we are so thankful that you're back on the show, and we are so grateful that Sounds of Blackness is back in the speakers all over the country and certainly right here in the Twin Cities. The tune you just released is called Get Off Your Hands and Vote, and given that elections are a week away, this thing came right on time. Let's actually listen to a bit of the tune before we chat about it.
What a tune and what a great ending. You even snuck in the Count Basie one in there. Ba ba ba, so awesome. So, tell me a little bit about the tune, Gary.
Thank you. You're so astute in your musicology as always, Sean. Yes, that's clearly a tribute and homage, the ending and the flavor of the song, to the late great Count Basie and One O'Clock Jump. And the pattern, the kick drum pattern in the song, is a hip hop pattern. So, hip hop to bebop, and we wanted to have that nostalgic flavor in the song because this is not a new movement, and we wanted the music to reflect that, to connect the past and the present being the same movement to get people out and vote.
And can you tell me a little bit about... I mean, Sounds of Blackness is so gifted at writing and creating music for particular moments. Can you tell me about the genesis of this tune? Do you go, 'We need a tune about voting?' Or do you sit down at the piano and go, 'I got to come up with something for this moment.' Bring me back to the very beginning of the writing for the tune.
Kind of all of the above, Sean. And part one of my answer to you, I take a page out of the book of the late great country artist Chet Atkins. And I saw an interview of his, he was a great songwriter, and he was frequently asked how he wrote such great songs. And I love his answer. He said, 'There are no songwriters. All music is given.' And so, I subscribe to that as well. And what was given to me was the fact that there are so many different facets and times of the movement for social justice and civil rights and equality, and all of them had an anthem.
The civil rights movement, of course, had 'We Shall Overcome' and 'Ain't Going to Let Nobody Turn Me Around.' All those songs that you hear during the marches, those old black and white footage. The black power movement had 'Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud.' The king, James Brown, and the queen, Aretha Franklin, had 'Respect,' but she also had 'To Be Young, Gifted and Black.' And so, Sounds of Blackness, we looked at voting, and as crucial as it is for this day and time and the outcomes having ramifications locally, nationally, and internationally. And so, I was like, 'You know what? There is no voting anthem. We need to provide one.' And so, that was the genesis and the motivation behind 'Get Off Your Hands and Vote.' 90 million eligible voters last in 2024 did not vote. And so, we have to change that.
And now, some people, Gary Hines, don't vote because they've given up on it to some extent. And that's a very painful thing for me to say because I think it's a very important part of our civic duty. And I just want to ask you, how do you always hue towards the optimistic when we are at a time where I think many people go, 'The system's broken. Maybe it don't even really matter which person is in power out of the choices we have.' How do you stay on the optimistic, forward-looking side of civic engagement?
Well, that's essential for us, Sounds of Blackness and myself, to do that, Brother Sean, for a few reasons. First of all, as part of the African and African-American history and legacy, even going back to the motherland, Africa, music was always not just about art. Music was about life and every aspect of life. And then, going through the centuries of enslavement, music was a lifeblood and defense mechanism and the motivation and inspiration to keep going. So, under circumstances even worse than these, music was able to motivate and sustain people. So, surely, if what our ancestors went through and not only survived but thrived through, if music could help them, it can surely help us.
That is a very fair and positive place to be thinking about it right now. Let's move to some of the time and a place maybe even better than where we're at right now, which is Saturday mornings when I'm making high-protein cottage cheese pancakes and listening to D. Henry Williams, The Grand Diva, on KFAI, which is how I start my Saturdays. Do you know that this woman plays War on the radio so reliably that I can basically like schedule flipping the pancakes to when it comes on?
Yes, I do. Shout-out to Grand Diva. We love her. She has been sister, friend, supporter of Sounds of Blackness for also for decades. Of course she started when she was three, so she, but she's always been a supporter and friend and to this day. And this is the chance, Sean, along with you, to say on behalf of Sounds of Blackness, thank you to both of you.
Absolutely. Now we've touched on the tune Get Off Your Hands and Vote, and you can find that over at soundsofblackness.org as well as everywhere you might be streaming music. But Gary Hines, I didn't have the chance to talk to you when you first mentioned that the autobiography that your mother wrote came out earlier this year. And I want to ask a little bit about that. For folks who aren't familiar, your mother passed 11 years ago. And she was a very celebrated jazz singer who also used her music as part of her era's, quote, struggles for equality. That quote actually comes from you, Gary Hines, in the Star. The book that came out by Doris Hines is called Snowball. And what is the message you want the world today to understand from your mother's beautiful life and her writing of this book?
I would say, brother Sean, resilience, determination, fortitude. Doris Hines, here's an example in her own life. The American Idol of the day, of her day, was called the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scout Show, nationally broadcast on CBS every Sunday. She auditioned for that 17 times before she was successful, 17. Would take the bus and the train from Yonkers, New York, my home, our hometown, down to Manhattan, down to CBS. And on that 17th time she not only was successful but she won the equivalent of American Idol. So that she didn't just talk the walk, she walked the talk. And in our house, my siblings and I, and by the way, speaking of siblings, it was my youngest sister, her youngest daughter, Diane, who co-authored the Snowball with her. But we could literally, Sean, could not say the word 'can't' in the household. If we ever said, 'Oh, Mom, we can't,' she would say, 'Uh-uh, we don't use can't in this house.' And so, her message is about determination, faith, inspiration, and resilience.
I mean, what a message and what a message we need in 2026. I think the only other message we need is get off your hands and vote, which you have also covered in this release. Again, check out the tune at soundsofblackness.org or wherever you stream your music, and maybe perhaps with the Grand Diva this Saturday, because she certainly loves to play Sounds of Blackness. Gary Hines, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for making music for the time. Thank you for making a voting anthem at a time we certainly need it. We appreciate you being with us here on City Cast Twin Cities.
On behalf of Sounds of Blackness, thank you, brother Sean. We appreciate you, your support, your friendship, your encouragement, and that goes both ways. We appreciate you. God bless you.
We'd love to hear from you. Are there any other potential voting anthems that you want us to celebrate? Send us the playlist. Text or leave us a voicemail on the City Cast Twin Cities hotline. That number is 612-217-0637, and we'll be back after a quick break.
As healthcare costs continue to rise, we continue to hear more about hospital mergers, and Minnesota's actually seen some big examples of this recently. One of them is the acquisition of Allina Health by Sutter Health based in California, and that sort of brought us to Allina doctors and hospice nurses going on strike with this pending merger looming large among their concerns. And Save Minnesota Healthcare is a coalition of hospital workers, faith leaders, organizers, and politicians who are expressing a degree of skepticism about these hospital consolidations. And joining us today is Wanda Molden, who is a community organizer with ISAIAH, specifically the Black Church Power Project. Wanda, we appreciate you joining us today.
We're also with Dr. Matt Hoffman, who practices at Allina Health and is a member of the SEIU Doctors Council. Welcome, Dr. Hoffman.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Wanda, I want to ask you the first question. How would you summarize Save Minnesota Healthcare's position on these mergers?
I think with the major hospital consolidations, they're reshaping our healthcare in Minnesota, including the Sutter Health's proposed takeover of Allina Health. And then Sanford Health acquisition involving North Memorial, which we were successful with getting the community benefits agreement. So, with another health merger on the rise, which would be HealthPartners Essential Health, we are concerned that these acquisitions, these mergers need to have, before they're approved, a community benefits agreement that's enforceable to protect workers' rights. So, we have formed our coalition to ensure that that happens and that affordable patient care costs are capped and that they are enforceable through the Attorney General's Office.
Before we get into the nuts of today, let's take a quick victory lap as far as your position is about what happened with North Memorial Health, because as folks are trying to understand these community agreements, which are legally binding, it might be worthwhile to talk about the success you have already notched and get an understanding how that is changing what might happen in the future for North Memorial.
Okay, so on August 26th, the agreement was established with the Attorney General's Office for 10 years of oversight and committed Sanford Health to invest $600 million in North Memorial system, including Robbinsdale Hospital, $100 million devoted to that. So, we would protect the level one trauma center and core services at Robbinsdale for 10 years. There's a lot of other particulars, including honoring collective bargaining agreements and retain employees in good standing, avoid material reductions in current services and Minnesota locations, and also contribute to charity care and participation in Medicare and Medicaid. So, we want to preserve the scope of reproductive and gender affirming care, invest $15 million to support small and independent health care area, and then to work to strengthen the level one and safety net care in the metro area. So, then maintain that corporate presence in Minnesota, and continue to draw on Minnesota talent was another demand. And also lastly, to meet quarterly with the Attorney General and report annually for 10 years. So, that's a big win for us because we started off they wanted to just keep North Memorial open for two years, and we didn't find that to be acceptable.
That is a lot of inspiring bullet points. I want to, I saw some fire in some of the conversations you had that I saw quoted in the Star Tribune. When we were thinking about this hospital in Robbinsdale, we're thinking about a hospital that covers a lot of folks who are marginalized, a lot of folks who do not have the finances or the transportation abilities to go elsewhere. And it seemed like a lot of your position, Wanda, was to make sure that things stayed right for that community, and you sort of said, 'God bless you, Maple Grove, but we're trying to make sure the right things are happening in Robbinsdale.' And I'm trying to really understand, I love the bullet points, but I want to understand human to human, how did it feel for you to make sure that that hospital for the community in that area was going to be in better standing for the coming years.
It was everything because we didn't want mediocre, just maintaining an emergency care, emergency room system. We need wellness and primary care physicians to maintain the health of Minnesotans, and that we know when we're healthier that we can thrive in our respective communities. So, it also increases employment opportunities because we asked for a career path for BIPOC individuals in the healthcare system to move beyond the CNA into a specialized position. So, we are all very passionate about that, and so it was a big victory lap for us, but the work continues. We're not, we're just getting started, so.
Well, let's say the work continues, but sometimes the work can stop. Let's pass it to Dr. Hoffman, who was actually on the picket line earlier, which is a huge rarity even at the national level to see doctors on the picket line. What compelled you to go on strike, and what are you trying to change about your working conditions and about how these hospitals serve the communities they're located in?
Yeah, I think these examples of these mergers are exactly why doctors are striking, exactly why doctors are getting organized. You know, historically in medicine, people on the grounds had a lot of power over, you know, in terms of what happens with patients, do patients have access to care. What we've seen is doctors and other healthcare providers are really becoming employees, and so we're working for these large companies, and when these companies cut up services, when they jack up prices, we're really no longer in a position to be able to stop that. And so, what we need to do, what all healthcare workers need to do, what all workers in Minnesota need to do, is be able to organize, to be able to fight back against these companies when they try to shut down services, when they try to increase prices. Part of that as a doctor is getting organized, is joining a union so that you have a structure, you have a framework that you can actually fight back. So I'm very proud of the work we've done together with this coalition. I think the Sutter North Memorial is a huge victory. I mean, it's precedent setting in the United States, and we need to carry that on. We need to do the same thing with Sutter and Allina.
I want to ask a question from the other position, which is thinking about some of the concerns that a company like Sutter might have, and that doesn't necessarily come natural to me because I often am thinking about the folks on the ground and the folks working. But I would just like to be honest, it hasn't been an easy 10 years to run a health system, period, and especially some things that are happening with the federal government that is causing belt tightening at a lot of different levels, including a place like Sutter Health. But when we think about the tightening margins and the increasing expenses in the world of health, do these mergers, to either of you, feel inevitable? Like that, you know, you're just not going to be able to change the fact that we're going to see some other health company, some other health organizations come in and start joining forces to weather the storm financially?
I think for my part, you know, that gets a little bit above my expertise in terms of do companies have to merge? I would say that not every health care company is struggling. There are some that are doing better than Sutter. While Sutter was reporting losses a few years ago, they were also giving their executives million dollar raises. And so, you know, that being said, how they're running the company, I don't know. But what I would say is people like me and Wanda are in a position to try to protect our community if these mergers do happen, and that's really, I think, where we can put our efforts and where we should be putting our efforts in terms of what can we do for our community to protect them in the case of these mergers that historically has been something that hasn't happened.
And in California, we've seen Sutter multiple settlements over a hundred million dollars regarding antitrust behavior. And so we don't want to bring that to Minnesota. So that's really our power. We don't have, I think, the power to decide, you know, if a company merges, what Allina's executives do, whether they're making money or losing money, it's out of my control, but I believe we do have power as workers to protect our patients and to fight back and to serve our communities when these mergers do happen.
And I would agree with what Matt said, and to include, these are not just statistics and widgets. These are real people who are impacted by these cuts and these decisions. And so it affects everyone in Minnesota. And to provide health care for everyone in Minnesota, it would cost five billion dollars. That's doable. And there are other solutions besides having these big health care companies come in and take over, and where we lose our local control and our decision-making power at the local level, because when they're back in their C-suites, they're not thinking about us. So it's our obligation, it's our right, and our responsibility to make sure that we are ensuring that we have some enforceable agreements such as a CBA. And we would want that for every merger, every acquisition, every health care company that's coming in to do that. On a personal note, I am on Medicare and I have an Advantage Medicare plan that I need to drop because it's going to go from a health care deductible of zero to a thousand dollars if I maintain that. And I cannot afford that. And neither can anyone else afford that. And so I'm scrambling now to get some eye surgeries completed by the end of the year so I can maintain that zero health deductible before things change in January.
Thank you both for making it personal, Wanda, and also for your bravery in doing so, because obviously you would have every right to omit that information, but to understand on a human-to-human level, it is very helpful. How would something like a community benefits agreement help a Wanda Molden or help anyone else who might be facing this? What's the benefit if this is agreed to by the hospitals that are merging?
Well, CBAs move merger decisions beyond the corporate boardroom by putting community priorities into enforceable agreements, so they can protect patient care, affordability, equity, jobs, and essential services while creating public oversight and accountability.
You know, and I want to add specifically, I mean, I'm a primary care doctor. Allina has closed six primary care clinics in Minnesota, including the clinic my wife worked at. And when those clinics get closed, a lot of people just don't have access to care anymore. They maybe don't have transportation to get care more easily. And so, I think, you know, for a patient, one of my patients, looking at this and saying, 'What is the effect of this? Why does this matter?' I think, you know, we are fighting for no closures, that there aren't closures of services. We're fighting that prices aren't increased. And I think, you know, you don't think, 'Oh, hey, maybe next month my clinic will get closed.' But that is a reality for a lot of people in Minnesota. You don't think that, 'Hey, my birth center is going to get closed.' But in the last 5 years, Allina has closed four birth centers, and they're all in rural areas. Meaning people, you know, if there's an emergency when they're trying to give birth, maybe now they're having to drive an hour, and hopefully hope they get there in time. This is not something that is theoretical or abstract. I mean, this is a very real thing for Minnesotans in terms of access to health care and affordable health care, and that's exactly what we're trying to protect with the CBA.
Wanda, I think I want to ask my final question actually of you. I have been so impressed in my life by how far the strength and imagination of the black church can go beyond the pews. As you've been organizing, why has it been really important to have the faith community at the table as you start to lead in the health care space?
The faith community is vital because it has been the backbone and the foundation of social justice and political public discipleship for us for years. And so we are the cornerstone of the community, and that's where the community trust and rely on us to provide support and guidance. And so this is not something that we can sit on the sidelines and watch happen. We have to become involved directly, and we have been, you know, and so I'm very proud that we have been able to move forward with the coalition to make our voices be heard and to speak for those who feel that their voices won't be heard. There is historically mistrust in the black community with health care overall just because of the experiences. Everyone has many stories. I shared one today, but my story is not an anomaly. And you ask how it personally impacts me, anywhere from what prescriptions I will need to get refilled and who's going to cover that, in network, out of network, if I have to have surgeries. I spoke about my eye surgeries. I need to be concerned about who's going to cover that, how much up front do I need to pay out of pocket costs. How do I balance that on a restricted budget as a retiree? So those are concerns that families have to face every day. So the black church is integral in all of those issues that are faced by the community and has been for many years.
I thank you both for your time today and for your ability to share your positions clearly, and so folks understand what's at the table, because I think everyone should agree that this is a big decision to make, and the details of how it is arrived at will have an impact on the lives of Minnesotans well beyond this actual, you know, campuses that are being discussed. Wanda Molden, thank you for joining us today. Dr. Matt Hoffman, thank you for joining us as well. We appreciate you being on City Cast Twin Cities.
