News
Minnesota reports 365 new COVID-19 cases, a single-day high
Minnesota reported 365 new COVID-19 cases between Sunday and Monday — the highest number in a 24-hour period — for a total of 4,181 cases. Testing has increased in the past week, since the state announced a plan to test up to 20,000 Minnesotans daily through a joint effort with Mayo Clinic and the University […]
Federal airport money under scrutiny, but Brainerd Lakes comes out a winner
The Federal Aviation Administration hasn’t explained why a small Minnesota airport is receiving nearly $18 million in federal funding under the recent COVID-19 aid package, far more than busier airports in Rochester and Duluth, for instance. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes $10 billion in funding for airports affected by pandemic. […]
Minnesota reports 42 COVID-19 deaths over the weekend
Minnesota reported 42 deaths from COVID-19 between Friday and Sunday, including 28 deaths in one 24-hour period over the weekend. Across the state, 286 people have died from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus since the state confirmed its first case on March 6, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The number of […]
Public Policy Polling survey shows Trump in trouble in Minnesota; Walz solid
Liberal-leaning Alliance for a Better Minnesota commissioned a poll from Public Policy Polling, and the results show President Donald Trump’s hopes of flipping Minnesota looking distant. The poll of 1,384 Minneosota voters, taken April 24-25, shows Trump’s approval rating is 40%. First term DFL Gov. Tim Walz, meanwhile, is on solid ground, with 70% of […]
Minnesota Senate votes 42-25 in favor of legislative authority, oversight of $2B in federal COVID-19 funding
The state Senate advanced a measure Monday that would give Minnesota lawmakers explicit authority to decide how to spend roughly $2 billion from the federal government to stop the spread of COVID-19. By a 42-25 tally, the Republican-led effort earned some DFL votes, including the former Senate DFL leader, Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook. The […]
Demonstrators shut down Caribou drive-thru demanding worker protections
About three dozen honking cars blocked the drive-thru of a Caribou Coffee in Roseville Monday, calling on the chain to provide more personal protective equipment, sick time and hazard pay for workers. As Gov. Tim Walz’s order closing dine-in restaurants, bars and coffee shops stretches into its seventh week, Caribou workers say they’ve been required […]
We don’t know how many Minnesota students are absent from distance learning
Showing up to school is one of the most important factors in a student’s academic success — but Minnesota won’t have a reliable record of student attendance for nearly three months this year. In a typical school day, teachers base attendance on whether students physically show up to class. During Minnesota’s “distance learning” period, which Gov. […]
6,000 unemployment checks are in the mail for gig workers, self-employed
More than 6,000 checks went out this week to Minnesota workers who until now were ineligible for unemployment: beauticians, Uber drivers, restaurant owners and other independent contractors and self-employed workers. “This was something brand new that we had to stand up in a matter of weeks,” said Blake Chaffee, deputy commissioner of the Minnesota Department […]
Senate GOP leader calls for renegotiating labor contracts with government workers
Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, on Friday said the state should renegotiate several labor contracts with thousands of government workers, arguing the state’s worsening budget picture calls for public employees to forego planned salary raises. The contracts — which a House committee advanced on Thursday on a party line vote — still […]
Minnesota’s COVID-19 case count tops 3,000
More than 3,000 Minnesotans have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Two-hundred-twenty-one people have died. Because of limited testing, the number of confirmed cases doesn’t represent everyone who has or has had COVID-19. More than 1,590 of patients who tested positive have recovered and no longer need to be isolated, […]
Distance learning may worsen Minnesota’s achievement gaps, experts say
As essential workers with four children at home, there’s no such thing as weekends anymore for Kelsey Henningson-Kaye and her husband. As a physician assistant, Henningson-Kaye works 12-hour shifts at least three days a week at rural Ortonville Hospital, less than a mile from the South Dakota border. Her husband works six or seven days […]
When the Legislature allowed restaurants to sell takeout beer, they left out the breweries
Lawmakers agreed to allow restaurants to serve takeout alcohol last week, and the moment brought the warm buzz that often accompanies a second pint of beer. In this case, however, the glow arrived not from a glass of beer but from a rare moment of bipartisan comity at the State Capitol. But there was one […]