Sticker shock is expected to spread fast this open enrollment season.

The big picture: After eating rising costs for everything from eggs to electricity in recent years, many Minnesotans are bracing for another price jump they can't avoid: their health insurance rates.

📈 What's happening: Minnesotans buying insurance on the state's Affordable Care Act individual marketplace, called MNSure, starting next month will see an average premium increase of 22%, per the state Department of Commerce.

Threat level: The costs — which represent the largest rate hikes in nearly a decade — could go up even more for the roughly 90,000 Minnesotans who qualify for the premium tax credits at the center of the federal shutdown fight.

• Commerce commissioner Grace Arnold told lawmakers last week that some residents could see costs soar by $2,000 a year if the credits expire as planned.

💼 Price tags of health plans at private employers are also on the rise, leading some workplaces to trim benefits or pass some of the price increases onto employees.

• "Small group" premiums for Minnesota employers with under 50 workers will go up 14% on average, while large private employers across the nation expect premium costs to jump as much as 10%, as Axios has reported.

Plus: Premiums for some Minnesota state workers will jump about 17% under contracts approved this summer.

• And a recent Minnesota Star Tribune analysis of Medicare Advantage plans found double-digit premium increases for some popular options for seniors.

Between the lines: Brooks Deibele, a Minneapolis-based executive vice president with benefits consultant Holmes Murphy, told the Star Tribune recently that "there's not one silver-bullet answer to control cost."

• That's because multiple factors — including high-priced drugs, increasing labor costs and general inflation — contribute to the trend.

Worth noting: The divided Legislature struck a deal to extend a state program called reinsurance this spring, preventing an even bigger increase from hitting people who get their coverage from the individual market.

What's next: MNSure open enrollment starts Nov. 1. Many private employers' periods for picking plans run between October and December.

Zoom out

Production of Honeycrisp apples has increased roughly fivefold nationally since 2011 as orchards chase consumer demand for the Minnesota-created variety.

Why it matters: Honeycrisp "changed everything," says Jim Bair, the president and CEO of USApple.

• Before its debut, spending more than 99 cents per pound of apples was unthinkable. Today, people will pay triple that, Bair said.

By the numbers: Honeycrisps, the highest-priced variety for growers and consumers, average $2.16 per pound nationally, while Galas and Red Delicious can retail for under $1.40.

Between the lines: James Williams, a business development manager at United Apple Sales, said "you can expect volumes to continue to increase" after a drop in production last year.

What we're watching: Whether shoppers develop a similar taste for the First Kiss, an apple with Honeycrisp parentage that was developed at the University of Minnesota.

Full story

🚔 Authorities say they've arrested a suspect after a firebomb was thrown at Fletcher's Ice Cream & Café in Minneapolis late Sunday night, then again yesterday afternoon. (Star Tribune)

🪧 The union representing Minneapolis teachers and support staff scheduled a strike authorization vote for later this week amid an ongoing contract dispute over class sizes, salaries and special education caseloads. (Star Tribune)

• A yes vote would allow union leaders to call a strike as soon as November. The last walkout, in 2022, lasted about three weeks.

👩‍🍼Mayo Clinic Health Systems will end on-call labor and delivery at Owatonna's hospital next month, citing staffing challenges. (MPR News)

• Patients in labor could be sent to hospitals 40 minutes away instead.

🍃 Gov. Tim Walz signed a third tribal cannabis compact, which will allow Prairie Island Indian Community to soon sell cannabis to off-reservation retailers. (KARE 11)

• The announcement comes as newly licensed independent dispensaries grapple with supply shortages.

👋 Audrey here with an early look at the highly anticipated Animales BBQ Co. before its Thursday opening.

Catch up quick: Owner Jon Wipfli operated Animales for seven years as a popular food truck at spots like Bauhaus Brew Labs.

• Now, he's partnered with Rich Henriksen, the owner of North Loop jazz bar Berlin, to find the permanent home in Minneapolis' Harrison neighborhood.

What to expect: The new space, adjacent to brewery La Doña Cervecería, is over 12,500 square feet with giant booths, long tables, a bar, a stage for live music and an adorable children's play area. Ordering is done via QR code.

• The menu includes classics like chopped pork shoulder, St. Louis-style ribs and smoked sausage, plus burgers, salads and sandwiches.
• Barbecue prices range from $14 for pork belly to $54 for a half-rack of pastrami beef ribs, and all items include a 20% service fee.

The catch: If you want a rack of ribs, prepare to get there early.

• The barbecue portion of the menu is only served from 4–9pm, and once an item sells out, it's gone for the day.

More mouth-watering details...

Reader Lorri T. sent us this fun picture of downtown Minneapolis' Mary Tyler Moore statue "dressed" to the nines for last week's "Purple Rain" musical premiere.

• She knit the sweater herself over several months, using about 1,300 yards of yarn.

🏀 Speaking of Prince, the Timberwolves announced yesterday that they'll bring back their purple tribute jerseys for seven home games this year.