It Figures

98,200
More than 98,200 Minnesotans between the ages of 18 and 24 don’t have health insurance, partly because of a state law that says a child can be covered by parents’ insurance only until age 18, or until age 25 if they are a full-time student. That means many college grads fall off their parents’ policies after they earn a diploma. Starting Jan. 1, a new Minnesota law will allow young people who are dependents to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they turn 25. But that doesn’t change the situation for this year’s graduates. AP

1986
Police arrested a key witness in the case involving a former Saginaw, Mich., mayor charged with arson and insurance fraud in the burning of her 1986 Mercedes-Benz. Jerry W. Wilkins was arrested June 1 at a restaurant by police in Saginaw County’s Saginaw Township. He was a handyman for Wilmer Jones Ham McZee, who serves on the City Council and as mayor pro tem. McZee’s arson and insurance fraud trial is set for Aug. 28. McZee, who is the mother of ex-Detroit Pistons player Darvin Ham, has pleaded not guilty in the case. She is accused of setting the car on fire March 9, 2006 and trying to make a false insurance claim. AP

2
The performance of two fire eaters got a little too hot for Johnson City, Tenn., police, who cited them as a safety hazard at the annual Blue Plum Festival. The men were arrested June 1 when they used kerosene to spew fire from their mouths and posed a “danger by flames that was around the area of performance,” according to the police report. They were charged with reckless endangerment. Police say Michael Fatolitis and Philip J. Rose, both 19, were carrying around a gallon-sized container of kerosene that could have caused serious injury if it ignited during their act at the outdoor music and art festival. AP