Minnesota AIDS Hot Line Hangs Up

What a difference 25 years can make. At the beginning of the AIDS pandemic in 1981, a pressing need for AIDS-related information led to the establishment of dozens of telephone hot lines across the country. Today, because of cuts in federal grants, the Minnesota health department has eliminated funding for the Minnesota AIDS Project's AIDSLine, the state's primary AIDS hot line, which provided HIV- and STD-related information and referrals to testing centers for state residents. 'It was a difficult decision, but we needed to prioritize,' says health department STD program director Kip Beardsley.