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Medical examiner: Pine County overdoses remain steady; methamphetamine, fentanyl seen in toxicology
Summary
Shane Sheets, director of the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, told commissioners Pine County recorded 262 deaths in the period reviewed with substance-related deaths showing methamphetamine and fentanyl as primary substances; the office is serving 37 Minnesota counties and is importing autopsy data into OD Maps for real-time tracking.
Shane Sheets, director of the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, presented the office's annual report and county-specific trends, reporting, "so, again, 262 deaths in Pine County," and outlining manner-of-death breakdowns including one homicide, 29 accidents, 13 drug-substance deaths, and seven suicides. Sheets described subclassifications (blunt force, overdose, exposure) and noted that toxicology results show methamphetamine and fentanyl are the primary substances present in the county's drug-related deaths.
Sheets also said the office serves 37 Minnesota counties and provides data integration into OD Maps so fatal overdose information is uploaded in near real time to help public health and emergency services plan Narcan distribution and prevention efforts. He invited commissioners to request specialized reports from the office or to tour the facility. No rate increase for next year was reported at the meeting.
The presentation included questions from commissioners about rural-versus-metro comparisons and whether overdose rates are comparable to similar-sized counties; Sheets said Pine County's rates are roughly in line with comparable rural counties and that statewide fatal overdoses are starting to trend down, possibly due to Narcan and EMS interventions.
