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A woman pushing a cart of sanitizing spray.

Latest on COVID-19 in MN: Trends stay positive; vaccination pace quickens

The newest numbers continue to show the state’s COVID-19 picture brightening as the state approaches February. Minnesota’s also seeing its first sustained and significant rise in the pace of vaccinations.
  • Looking at the numbersCOVID in Minnesota Today
  • Sign upAnalysis of COVID-19 data in Minnesota
A person stands on the grounds in front of a capitol building.

COVID relief, security for upcoming trials: Walz budget items require quick action

It will be months before Minnesota lawmakers approve a new state budget. But some items proposed by Gov. Tim Walz this week are time sensitive — from COVID-19 relief to security for the upcoming trials in the killing of George Floyd.
  • Walz budgetPlan includes increasing taxes on highest earners, boosting school spending
  • RelatedMinnesota Senate Republicans release legislative priorities
A man getting vaccinated by a nurse.

Minnesota starts drawing names in COVID vaccine lottery for 65 and older

More than 226,000 people signed up online and by phone; about 8,000 doses are available. People 65 and older whose names are drawn will be able to make an appointment for their first dose of the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine at one of nine vaccination sites across the state.
  • FAQEverything you need to know about getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Minnesota
  • Early vaccine distributionNationwide basics
A vial of a vaccine.

At some of MN's large hospital systems, teleworkers, volunteers, construction workers have COVID vaccine advantage

State officials say Minnesota’s medical institutions have taken a liberal view of who should be in the early rounds of vaccination. And it’s come at the cost of making sure shots get to the people who need them most.
  • A tale of two dentists Why some providers are getting vaccinated and some aren’t
  • APM ResearchLab U.S. states are far behind COVID-19 vaccination goals

Proud Boys leader was government informant, records show

Court records show that the leader of the Proud Boys, who was arrested in Washington shortly before the Capitol riot, previously worked undercover and cooperated with investigators after he was accused of fraud in 2012. 
A screenshot of an online video call with five participants.

In Focus: Disparities and distrust in BIPOC health care

Minnesota consistently lands on lists of states with the best health care. But if you’re Indigenous or a person of color, you’re not included in the high marks the state receives in metrics like health care access or public health outcomes.
A protester holds a sign reading "Defund the Police" outside Hennepin County Government Plaza during a demonstration against police brutality and racism on Aug. 24, 2020, in Minneapolis.

Most U.S. mayors do not support reallocating police resources, survey finds

Eighty percent of the mayors who responded say they believe their police budgets last year were "about right."

He saved 669 children from Nazis — a new book tells his story to kids

In “Nicky & Vera,” Peter Sís chronicles the work of Nicholas Winton, who helped hundreds kids escape Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938.
  • MPR News PresentsVoices from the Warsaw Ghetto
  • Portraits of strengthMinnesota's Holocaust survivors
  • Minnesota Holocaust survivorEva Gross shares her story
The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin warning of a continued threat from domestic violent extremists "with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition."

DHS warns of 'heightened threat environment' from domestic violent extremists

The bulletin did not cite any specific threat, but said that the risk of violence will persist for weeks. It warned that some extremists may be "emboldened" by the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Mikkel and Kayla Kjelshus' daughter, Charlie, had a complication during delivery that caused her oxygen levels to drop and put her at risk for brain damage. Charlie needed seven days of neonatal intensive care, which resulted in a huge bill — $207,455 for the NICU alone — and confusion over which parent's insurer would cover the little girl's health costs.

'Birthday rule' blindsides first-time parents with a mammoth medical bill

An insurance regulation known as "the birthday rule" is tripping up couples who are putting their newborn children on the wrong policy and risk losing thousands of dollars.
Cloris Leachman

Oscar and Emmy-winning actor Cloris Leachman dies at 94

Cloris Leachman, an Oscar-winner for her portrayal of a lonely housewife in “The Last Picture Show” and a comedic delight as the fearsome Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein” and neighbor Phyllis on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” has died. She was 94.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt. at Biden's inauguration.

Bernie Sanders' mittens, memes help raise $1.8M for charity

About those wooly mittens that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders wore to the presidential inauguration, sparking endless quirky memes across social media? They've helped to raise $1.8 million in the last five days for charitable organizations in Sanders' home state of Vermont.
A person wearing a face mask in a car uses a megaphone.

House DFL bill would offer safety protections for meatpacking workers

The bill would require meat processing employers to provide paid sick time for workers to recuperate from illness, injury or to care for ill family members.
Driver and Vehicle Services

Expired driver's licenses, IDs should be renewed soon, Minnesota officials say

Minnesota law does not allow for additional extensions, so people whose licenses would have expired between March 13 of last year and the end of this February should plan to renew soon, according to the Department of Public Safety.
Indigenous health care workers treat patients last week at a campaign hospital set up in the Parque das Tribos neighborhood of Manaus, Brazil. Oxygen shortages at hospitals in Brazil's Amazon prompted authorities to impose a curfew and airlift patients to other states.

Why scientists are very worried about the variant from Brazil

They don't yet understand why the coronavirus variant called P.1 has spread so explosively there. Its set of mutations seem especially dangerous. And this week P.1 was confirmed in the U.S.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump clash with police and security forces as people storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

'Unconscionable': Capitol Police union says leadership failed officers in riot

The union decried leadership's actions as a failure that led directly to the harm of its officers.

Minneapolis settles suit over MPD response to unrest

It’s the first of several suits that allege police fired projectiles without warning and caused serious injuries. Others are still in court.
A voter sign with a flag sits outside

Voter ID bill clears Senate committee amid squabbling

Republicans in the Minnesota Senate advanced a voter ID bill Wednesday following a sometimes contentious committee hearing.
A 2020 census letter

Census data for congressional seats still months away

The numbers used for divvying up U.S. congressional seats among the states won’t be ready until the end of April, a Census Bureau official said Wednesday.
Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier

U.S. terrorism alert warns of politically motivated violence

The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism bulletin Wednesday warning of the potential for lingering violence from people motivated by anti-government sentiment after President Joe Biden's election.
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