Walker Orenstein reports on the state Legislature for MinnPost, with a particular focus on covering issues affecting Greater Minnesota. He can be reached at worenstein@minnpost.com, and you can follow him on Twitter at @walkerorenstein.
Republicans have been hesitant to consider new changes to policing standards after enacting a set of reforms following the death of George Floyd. But GOP lawmakers have also come under increasing pressure to consider additional DFL-backed measures in the wake of Daunte Wright’s killing.
In the wake of Daunte Wright’s killing by a Brooklyn Center police officer, DFLers are pushing legislation on everything from body cameras to civilian review boards — measures some Republicans have called “anti-law-enforcement.”
The seven-day positive case average, which lags by a week, is 6.6 percent. That rate has been increasing steadily for weeks and is above the 5-percent threshold that officials say represents a concerning sign of disease spread.
The ZIP codes eligible for the mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the state fairgrounds include many neighborhoods where lower-income people make up a large share of the population. But they also include parts of places long associated with affluence.
The seven-day positive case average, which lags by a week, is 6.3 percent. That rate has been rising for weeks and now well above a 5-percent threshold that state officials say is a concerning sign of disease.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman has said she open to winding down many of Walz’s powers, though Republicans remain skeptical.
Minnesota health officials continue to report new cases of more contagious COVID-19 variants in the state.
Lawmakers have seemingly put mutual aid funding on the back burner, potentially indefinitely.
The Minnesota Department of Health also said Monday that five more Minnesotans have died of COVID-19.
The Minnesota Department of Health also said Sunday that five Minnesotans have died of COVID-19.
How many more people just became eligible. Why now. And how you can get an appointment for a shot.
The ACLU and the Freedom Fund oppose the proposal, saying it could put domestic violence victims in danger and distract from broader efforts to change the cash bail system in Minnesota.
When it comes to the chance of virus spread, not all outdoor gatherings are equal.
Much of the spread of the B117 variant of COVID-19 in Minnesota has been among school-age children.
The Minnesota Department of Health has found 317 cases of the B117 variant in the state, up from 250 cases reported Monday, as well as 73 cases of two strains that were identified in California and three cases of the B1351 variant first identified in South Africa.
The increase in many Minnesotans’ home heating bills is because of cold weather elsewhere. When an arctic blast froze Texas in mid-February, natural gas supply seized up as demand skyrocketed, driving up prices.
The Minnesota Department of Health also said Tuesday that two more Minnesotans have died of COVID-19.
While the money has been celebrated by child care advocates, the windfall has also raised questions over how best to use it.
The state’s most recent data say 1,163,483 Minnesotans, roughly 20.9 percent of the state’s population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
