The Star Tribune’s Christopher Snowbeck writes: “The experimental antibody treatment that President Donald Trump received for COVID-19 is the subject of an ongoing clinical trial at the Mayo Clinic and a soon-to-be launched University of Minnesota study. Doctors say the ‘cocktail’ of monoclonal antibodies ordered by Trump’s doctors is one of the more promising options under development in the race to find treatments for the new disease….Research at Mayo already is underway evaluating the antibody treatment in hospitalized patients.”
Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman write in the New York Times: “The White House offered a barrage of conflicting messages and contradictory accounts about President Trump’s health on Saturday as he remained hospitalized with the coronavirus for a second night and the outbreak spread to a wider swath of his aides and allies. Just minutes after the president’s doctors painted a rosy picture of his condition on television, Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, gave reporters outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center a far more sober assessment off camera, calling Mr. Trump’s vital signs worrisome and warning that the next two days would be pivotal to the outcome of the illness.”
The AP reports: “Wisconsin health officials on Saturday said the state set a single-day record for COVID-19 cases with nearly 2,900 positive tests. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported a 20.5% positivity rate from 14,084 tests that were processed in the last day. The previous record for new cases in a single day came on Thursday, with 2,887. Health officials also announced 19 deaths in the last day, raising the number of fatalities due to complications from the virus to 1,372.”
The Star Tribune’s Patrick Condon writes: “A St. Paul philanthropist and political donor who attended a Shorewood fundraiser with President Donald Trump shortly before his COVID-19 diagnosis was revealed said Saturday that guests were all tested beforehand and were careful about social distancing. ‘It was very safely done,’ said Helene Houle, who paid $100,000 to attend the president’s fundraiser Wednesday at the Lake Minnetonka home of Minnesota business leader Marty Davis. … ‘They gave us the test in our cars, and it took about 20 minutes and they came back and told us if we were OK or not. And everyone was,’ she said. The fundraiser was in a dining room with about 40 guests in all, she said. Trump spoke and took questions but did not get too close to any guests, she said.”
WCCO-TV reports: “Dr. Jill Biden campaigned in the Twin Cities Saturday, making stops in St. Paul and speaking to supporters in Minneapolis. She arrived at Utepils Brewing in Minneapolis flanked by Democratic Sen. Tina Smith and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. … Biden began her speech saying she and Joe are praying for President Donald Trump and the First Lady. ‘This isn’t a matter of politics,’ she said. ‘It’s about health and it’s about respect.’”
MPR’s Jon Collins writes: “The Trump campaign has released a new online and television ad featuring Minneapolis police officer and police union president Lt. Bob Kroll. … Kroll says in the ad that Joe Biden “does not have the backs of police officers.” Other police officers in the ad accuse Democratic candidate Joe Biden of sympathizing with rioters and encourage viewers to vote for Trump. Biden has defended peaceful protests but condemned rioting and looting in public statements. He argued in late August that Trump is trying to scare the country with rhetoric about rioting.”
KSTP-TV reports: “Minnesota state Sen. John Jasinski, R-Faribault, has been arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired. Court records show Jasinski was cited with fourth-degree DWI and DWI with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more Saturday in Rice County. He was first elected in 2016 and serves as the vice chair for the Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee, which oversees agencies such as the Department of Public Safety.”
