The Associated Press writes: “A second Minnesota prison inmate has died after testing positive for COVID-19, state corrections officials said Saturday. Leroy Wallace Bergstrom, 71, died at a hospital on Saturday, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. … Bergstrom was an inmate at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Faribault, Another Faribault inmate, Adrian Raymaar Keys, 43, died Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19.”
In the Pioneer Press, Christopher Magan writes: “Their coronavirus outbreaks began at about the same time, but COVID-19 has now killed almost twice as many Minnesotans than our neighbors to the east, and Wisconsin has 25 percent fewer infections. It’s unclear why the pandemic has affected the two Upper Midwestern states so differently or if those variances will hold up long term. But it has driven criticism of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his decision to keep restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus in place longer than many other states.”
Janet Moore writes in the Star Tribune: “Metro Transit officials are wondering how public transportation in the Twin Cities will recover once the coronavirus threat eases. And, as commuters grow accustomed to working from home and heightened cleanliness, will demand for transit service forever change?… When the outbreak took hold in the spring, the number of people taking public transportation plunged in the Twin Cities and beyond. … Now, an enduring challenge for transit systems will be attracting skittish riders back to the fold.”
For MPR, Nina Moini and Evan Frost write: “Opposing groups of protesters faced off for several hours Saturday afternoon outside the Governor’s Residence in St. Paul. One group was there for a ‘Support the Police’ rally, sponsored in part by the group Bikers for 45 Minnesota, which backs President Trump. A counterprotest drew people supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and defunding police, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the deaths of other Black people at the hands of police.”
Also from the AP: “The FBI is investigating after officials in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington said Saturday that a piece of rope resembling a noose was found in a Black firefighter’s locker. …The rope was tied into what appears to be a crude noose and was discovered at a Bloomington fire station on June 15, according to a news release Saturday from the city, which asked the FBI to investigate.”
MPR reports: “Federal health officials now say more than 200 people across eight states — including Minnesota — have fallen ill from a parasite linked to bagged salads sold at several stores. … Grocery chain Hy-Vee announced Saturday that it’s recalling 13 kinds of bagged salads, up from just one last weekend. Recalls also affect some bagged salads sold at Aldi and Walmart stores.”
In the Washington Post, Brittany Shammas writes: “Amid ongoing national protests against racial injustice, Mississippi state lawmakers have paved the way for legislation to remove the Confederate symbol from the state flag. On Saturday, the Republican-led House of Representatives and the Senate voted by a two-thirds majority to clear the path for a vote on a measure that would remove the current flag and replace it with a new design free of Confederate iconography.”
