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Stories from July 30, 2020

Prosecutor: No charges for officer in Michael Brown’s death

Prosecutor: No charges for officer in Michael Brown’s death

St. Louis County’s top prosecutor will not charge the former police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, a dramatic decision that could reopen old wounds amid a renewed and intense national conversation about racial injustice and the police treatment of people of color. 
by The Associated Press

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'What a gift John Lewis was': Obama eulogizes his friend and hero

'What a gift John Lewis was': Obama eulogizes his friend and hero

"He believed that in all of us, there exists the capacity for great courage, that in all of us there is a longing to do what's right," former President Barack Obama says of his friend and mentor.
by Bill Chappell

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Gov. Walz unveils plan for reopening schools

The state is recommending in-person classes for districts with low levels of infection and adequate space to social distance in schools. MPR News evening update for July 30, 2020. Hosted by Tim Nelson. Our theme music is by Gary Meister.

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HBCU president: 'I slept better' after deciding on all online classes in the fall

HBCU president: 'I slept better' after deciding on all online classes in the fall

Colette Pierce Burnette of Huston-Tillotson University says keeping students and staff safe was paramount. Black people are dying from COVID-19 at two and a half times the rate of white people.
by Ailsa Chang

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Intermittent COVID-19 symptoms likely just one, long infection — and that's good news

Intermittent COVID-19 symptoms likely just one, long infection — and that's good news

Doctors had worried that long-term, variable COVID-19 symptoms were a sign that people could be reinfected. That’s likely not the case, meaning immunity is possible.
by Tom Crann and Dr. Jon Hallberg

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Minnesota’s rules for going back to school: What you need to know

Minnesota’s rules for going back to school: What you need to know

State officials announced their long-awaited guidelines for how public and charter schools should plan to reopen for fall instruction in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. What will that mean for your family, your work or your community? Here’s what you need to know.
by MPR News Staff, Elizabeth Shockman, Sara Porter, Laura Yuen and Riham Feshir

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Herman Cain, former GOP presidential candidate, dies from COVID-19

Herman Cain, former GOP presidential candidate, dies from COVID-19

Herman Cain had been hospitalized for nearly a month after testing positive for the coronavirus. Cain attended a Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., in late June.
by Ayesha Rascoe

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Vaccine candidate delivers protection in a single shot (in monkeys)

Vaccine candidate delivers protection in a single shot (in monkeys)

Studies COVID-19 vaccine candidates in monkeys show promise of an effective vaccine, but it will take large scale human trials to know for sure if they work.
by Joe Palca

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Air quality disparities persist despite overall gains

Air quality disparities persist despite overall gains

A new study finds that the U.S. places with the most polluted air in the 1980s remain the most polluted today. Poor people and people of color are more likely to live in places with dirty air.
by Rebecca Hersher

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Wisconsin governor orders masks statewide amid virus surge

Wisconsin governor orders masks statewide amid virus surge

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has issued a statewide mask mandate amid a spike in coronavirus cases, setting up a conflict with Republican legislative leaders who oppose such a requirement and successfully sued earlier to kill a “safer at home” order.
by The Associated Press

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A mean ghost story and a souped-up crime novel will wise you up fast

A mean ghost story and a souped-up crime novel will wise you up fast

“The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die,” by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, centers on an Indian family haunted by a jealous ghost. And S. A. Cosby's “Blacktop Wasteland” is a noir thriller — with muscle cars.
by Maureen Corrigan

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American Christianity must reckon with legacy of white supremacy, author says

American Christianity must reckon with legacy of white supremacy, author says

“White Too Long” author Robert P. Jones says churches should be more in vocal on issues of social justice: "White Christians have been largely silent ... and have hardly begun these conversations."
by Terry Gross

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True crime stories and the obsession with them form 'Unspeakable Acts'

True crime stories and the obsession with them form 'Unspeakable Acts'

The search for answers in this nonfiction anthology edited by Sarah Weinman is one of many cohesive elements that make the collection land among the best true crime books of the year.
by Gabino Iglesias

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When does census counting end? Bureau sends 'alarming' mixed signals

When does census counting end? Bureau sends 'alarming' mixed signals

Delayed by COVID-19, the Census Bureau had said it needed until Oct. 31 to finish a complete national head count. But the bureau's director now says it's planning to finish "as soon as possible."
by Hansi Lo Wang

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34 years after death of Chisholm woman, genetic testing leads to a suspect

34 years after death of Chisholm woman, genetic testing leads to a suspect

For more than three decades, the murder of Nancy Jane Daugherty stumped Iron Range and Minnesota investigators. But then on Wednesday, the Chisholm Police Department and the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension received word from state labs that they made a breakthrough thanks to advances in DNA testing and tireless police work. 

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Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain dies at 74

Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain dies at 74

Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain has died after battling the coronavirus. He was 74. A post on Cain's Twitter account on Thursday announced the death. Cain had been ill with the virus for several weeks.
by The Associated Press

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Recent rains improve drought conditions

Other than chances for rain Friday and Saturday, predominantly dry weather continues into late next week. However, the lack of significant rain could erode recent improvements in Minnesota’s drought areas.
by Nicole Mitchell

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Trump floats November election delay, but it won't happen

Trump floats November election delay, but it won't happen

The dates of federal elections — the Tuesday after the first Monday in November — are enshrined in federal law and would require an act of Congress to change. The Constitution makes no provisions for a delay to the Jan. 20, 2021, presidential inauguration.
by The Associated Press

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Democrats trim convention hours amid coronavirus pandemic

Democrats trim convention hours amid coronavirus pandemic

Democrats will meet for just two hours each night of their national convention next month in Milwaukee, according to preliminary schedule for the event that has been scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
by The Associated Press

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NASA launches Mars rover to look for signs of ancient life

NASA launches Mars rover to look for signs of ancient life

The biggest, most sophisticated Mars rover ever built — a car-size vehicle bristling with cameras, microphones, drills and lasers — blasted off Thursday as part of an ambitious, long-range project to bring the first Martian rock samples back to Earth to be analyzed for evidence of ancient life.
by The Associated Press

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Big-money investors gear up for a trillion-dollar bet on farm land

Big-money investors gear up for a trillion-dollar bet on farm land

A trillion dollars worth of American farmland will change hands in the coming years. Wealthy investors are likely to buy more of it, with the power to shape rural communities and the environment.
by Dan Charles

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John Lewis mourned as 'founding father' of 'better America'

John Lewis mourned as 'founding father' of 'better America'

Three former presidents are in attendance at John Lewis' funeral as he is mourned, revered and celebrated as an American hero at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. The private funeral began Thursday morning after nearly a week of mourning that took him from his birthplace in Alabama to the nation’s capital of Washington to his final resting place in his home of Atlanta.
by The Associated Press

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Fall school plans coming today

Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday is expected to give districts and charter schools guidance on the upcoming school year to help them make decisions on reopening this fall.  The governor said he wants students to be able to return to in-person classes, but to do it safely. This is an MPR News morning update for Thursday, July 30, 2020. Hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Our theme music is by Gary Meister.

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Seasonable weather again Thursday

Thursday will be another comfortable day with plentiful sunshine, low humidity, seasonable temperatures and light winds.
by Nicole Mitchell

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NW Minnesota's wet cycle persists, putting crops again in peril

NW Minnesota's wet cycle persists, putting crops again in peril

Minnesota’s northwest corner can’t catch a break from excessive rain. After a soggy last fall and spring flooding, heavy rains are damaging crops and roads.
by Dan Gunderson

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Minneapolis limits bar service as people crowd too close together in some establishments

Minneapolis limits bar service as people crowd too close together in some establishments

With COVID-19 cases on the rise in Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey is imposing new restrictions on bars. The emergency order takes effect Saturday evening. It does not close the establishments entirely, but they’ll be table service only. Patrons will no longer be able to sit at the counter.
by Matt Sepic

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July 30 update on COVID-19 in MN: 745 new cases, 5 more deaths; Walz unveils schools plan

July 30 update on COVID-19 in MN: 745 new cases, 5 more deaths; Walz unveils schools plan

The newest numbers come as Gov. Tim Walz calls for returning to in-person classroom teaching but leaving it to districts to decide whether their school systems will start the year in buildings, online or some combination based on their local COVID-19 conditions.
by MPR News Staff

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Walz's schools plan stresses in-classroom teaching, flexibility to shift

Walz's schools plan stresses in-classroom teaching, flexibility to shift

“It’s gonna be a first day of school unlike any we’ve seen,” Walz said Thursday as he unveiled what he described as a localized, data-driven — but “not perfect” — plan for the fall.
by Elizabeth Shockman, Riham Feshir and David H. Montgomery

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APM Reports: The Living Legacy — Black Colleges in the 21st Century

APM Reports: The Living Legacy — Black Colleges in the 21st Century

Before the civil rights movement, African Americans were largely barred from white-dominated institutions of higher education. And so Black Americans, and their white supporters, founded their own schools, known as Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In this documentary, we hear first-person testimony from students about why they chose an HBCU; and we travel to an HBCU that’s in the process of reinventing itself wholesale.
by MPR News Staff

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Arrest made in 1986 murder of Nancy Daugherty

Arrest made in 1986 murder of Nancy Daugherty

An arrest has been made in connection with the 1986 murder of Chisholm woman Nancy Daugherty, the Minnesota BCA and Chisholm Police Department announced Wednesday.

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Irregularities in COVID-19 reporting contract award process raises new questions

Irregularities in COVID-19 reporting contract award process raises new questions

The administration awarded a contract for a COVID-19 database to TeleTracking Technologies using a process reserved for innovative research. Its CEO had links to the New York real estate world.
by Dina Temple-Raston and Tim Mak

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Minneapolis closes indoor bar areas as virus cases rise

Minneapolis closes indoor bar areas as virus cases rise

The order takes effect Saturday and is aimed at what the city says is a major cause of cases rising more quickly than in the state as a whole.
by The Associated Press

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'Silent epidemic': Nearly 1 In 3 kids exposed to damaging levels of lead

'Silent epidemic': Nearly 1 In 3 kids exposed to damaging levels of lead

It's the first time global data has been gathered on the extent of the problem. Experts are calling it a "groundbreaking" report. And the ill effects can last for a lifetime.
by Maria Godoy

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