*News of Allan Spear’s death was widely reported among several news outlets, including the Daily. Spear was a longtime state senator, former U prof and one of the first openly gay state legislators in the country. He died on Saturday after complications from a surgery, Star Tribune reports. He was 71. The death was reported as far away as San Francisco. *U associate professor Jim Pacala, MD, was a guest on MPR’s Midmorning that discussed a newly released study that shows nearly half of medical students reported “burnout” and more than 10 percent said they had considered suicide, which could relate to the high rates among physicians. *A recent study from the University of Minnesota and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota showing that clinics that received bonuses from the insurance company for referring smokers to a stop-smoking hot line, referred nearly three times as many people in less than a year. The insurance company paid almost $100,000 in bonuses for referrals, the Star Tribune reports. That’s it for Tuesday. Check back here tomorrow for a brief digest of news surrounding the University of Minnesota. Tomorrow’s post will likely be from City Editor Mike Rose. Vadim Lavrusik Editor in Chief