Liz Navratil writes for the Star Tribune: “The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Minneapolis’ request to hear an emergency appeal on a court ruling that required the city to hire more police officers. In a one-page order, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea said the court was denying the city’s request for ‘accelerated review,’ a move that would have allowed the case to take the unusual step of bypassing the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The order did not elaborate on the court’s rationale.… The court’s denial doesn’t necessarily signal an end to the court battle. The city could still challenge the order in Minnesota’s Court of Appeals if officials decide to take that route.”
The AP and Catharine Richert of MPR say, “Minnesota has seen at least 5,599 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 and at least 57 deaths among fully vaccinated people — figures that represent a tiny fraction of the state’s immunized population, health officials reported Tuesday. The Minnesota Department of Health said it will begin reporting breakthrough case numbers weekly as the highly infectious delta variant surges across the state and nationwide. … The state’s total number of breakthrough cases represented only about 0.2 percent of the population of fully vaccinated Minnesotans, while the number of deaths was just 0.002 percent of the fully vaccinated population, the department’s announcement said.”
In the Star Tribune, Jim Spencer writes, “Both of Minnesota’s senators, Democrats Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, voted for the $1 trillion infrastructure plan that passed the Senate Tuesday, hailing its bipartisan backing. ‘There were a lot of disagreements about not just the top line money, but how the money should be spent,’ Klobuchar said. ‘And so it was on life support a few times, but we never gave up.’ Smith called it ‘once in a generation’ legislation that will shore up aging bridges, repair roads and add to public transit. In Minnesota, the bill ‘is going to clear out a long and deep backlog of projects,’ she said. She cited projects on Minnesota highways 23 and 14 specifically. Minnesota would see billions of dollars from the plan, according to the fact sheet released by the White House.”
Brian Bakst and Catherine Rickert write for MPR: “Demand is high in Minnesota for $100 vaccine incentives, prompting the state to set aside even more money for the program. As of early Tuesday, more than 30,000 people had already applied for the bonus for getting an initial COVID-19 shot between the end of July and the middle of this month. That exhausted the $2.5 million that Gov. Tim Walz had put toward the incentive. As a result, the Walz administration moved another $13.8 million into the account.”
Says the Star Tribune’s Liz Navratil, “A near-record number of candidates filed to run for office in Minneapolis this year, signaling high interest in races that are drawing national attention amid questions on policing, political power and housing affordability. A total of 102 people filed to run for office by the close of deadline on Tuesday, including 29 who submitted their paperwork the last two days of the filing period. The municipal races — the first since George Floyd’s murder by a police officer — are drawing national money as Minneapolis voters prepare to choose their next class of leaders and to determine the future of the city’s Police Department.
A KARE-TV story says, “Police say two young boys are hospitalized after they were found in a hot car near Duluth. One boy was airlifted to the Twin Cities. The twin 3-year-olds were reported missing Monday from a Hibbing, Minnesota home around 5:30 p.m. About an hour and a half later, police said a citizen found the boys in a vehicle near the home. That person alerted the officers, who broke a window to get the boys out.”
At MPR, Paul Huttner says, “Get ready to enjoy some free AC, Minnesota. A cool front sweeping through is pumping much less humid air into Minnesota. Dew points reached the tropical 70s in the Twin Cities around midday Tuesday. But much lower dew points in the 40s and 50s are working into western Minnesota … Our drier air mass will set up shop over Minnesota through the rest of this week. Highs will be in the lower 80s by Thursday and 70s north.”
The AP reports: “Wildlife officials in Wisconsin meet Wednesday to consider a 130-animal limit for the state’s fall wolf hunt, saying they want to protect the population after hunters killed almost twice as many wolves as allotted during a rushed spring season. … Farmers and residents across northern Wisconsin contend wolves menace their pets and livestock and hunting is the only way to control them. Conservationists counter that the population is too small to sustain hunting. The fight grew even more intense after hunters this spring killed 218 wolves in four days, blowing past a 119-animal limit before the DNR could shut the season down.”
Also from the AP: “Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, who served more than 24 years in a southwestern Wisconsin district that former President Donald Trump carried in 2020, announced Tuesday that he won’t seek reelection next year. Kind is one of just seven House Democrats serving in districts won by Trump. His departure only makes it more difficult for Democrats to maintain their majority in the House in next year’s midterm election.”
