Nurses start 3-day strike in Hibbing, Minn.

HIBBING, Minn. — A three-day strike by about 150 registered nurses has begun at a hospital and clinic in Hibbing, but officials of Fairview-owned Range Regional Health Services say medical care continues with 40 temporary nurses.

The Star Tribune reports that no new talks are scheduled. The strike began Monday.

The Minnesota Nurses Association says staffing levels are too low and the new contract would have put pressure on nurses to work sick or when they were too tired.

Hospital executive Mitch Vincent says that last month the Hibbing nurses rejected a three-year offer that included a 3.5 percent pay raise. He says it also would have set up a nurse-management committee to consider staffing levels.

The nurses threatened a strike in April, but pulled back as talks progressed.

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