1410 WIZM

State Senator, Julie Lassa lashed out at the Wisconsin Economic Development

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) Minnesota doctors say prescription drug abuse is a severe problem in the state and they often feel caught between patients who need pain medication and those who say they should do more to curb abuse.

A long-time state drug abuse safety officer, Carol Falkowski, told members of the Minnesota Medical Association on Thursday that prescription drug abuse now causes more deaths than motor vehicle accidents do. She says many patients will do almost anything to get drugs like OxyContin, including stealing them.

Many doctors at the meeting agreed abuse was a problem. But doctors also say they get blamed whether they prescribe the drugs or not. Dr. Paul Sanford says it's like waltzing in a mine field.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) Patients at Wisconsin hospitals have less of a chance of getting a serious infection than most nationwide.

An annual report from the state Division of Public Health shows Wisconsin hospitals have significantly reduced the number of the most serious infections and now have a rate below the national average.

Among the things the report looked at is the risk of getting infected by dirty needles. Wisconsin hospitals average less than one. The national average is one.

Affinity Health System's Infections Prevention Coordinator Brenda Ehlert says that emphasis on hand-washing helped reduce infection rates, along with close monitoring of patients' need for medications and fluids.

Hospital officials say they are striving to eliminate infections.

MENAHGA, Minn. (AP) Fire crews are searching for hotspots by air using heat-sensing equipment above a northwestern Minnesota wildfire.

A helicopter is flying low and slow over the Green Valley fire Friday. Crews are using the hand-held sensor to find smoldering fires in the 7,100 acres burned by the wildfire which started Tuesday.

Minnesota Incident Command System spokeswoman Becca Manlove says the fire is not growing and no additional structures have been lost since the 55 homes and buildings were destroyed earlier in the week near Menahga. Manlove says the fire is 65 percent contained as firefighters make progress in securing the containment lines around the fire perimeter.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. No injuries have been reported.