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Stories from August 19, 2020

Macalester president on reopening the campus: 'We’re going to follow the science'

Macalester president on reopening the campus: 'We’re going to follow the science'

Students will begin arriving at Macalester College in St. Paul next week. Ahead of the reopening, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with the college’s president, Suzanne Rivera, about navigating the pandemic.
by Cathy Wurzer and Aron Woldeslassie

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Two friends. One stranger. And a chance encounter on a sailboat.

Two friends. One stranger. And a chance encounter on a sailboat.

People across the country know how George Floyd died, but there has been less attention on who he was before his death. Two people, Floyd’s housemate and a man who was a stranger to Floyd, joined the program to talk about their time sailing on Bde Maka Ska. Then, we'll learn how a Fortune 500 company and a vocational training center are teaming up to support racial equity in Minnesota.
by Angela Davis, Karen Zamora and Katie Moritz

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‘Respect the virus’

State health authorities on Wednesday pleaded with Minnesotans to do the right things to stem the spread of COVID-19 even as they expressed frustration over fresh reports of Minnesotans doing the wrong things. This is an MPR News evening update for Wednesday, August 19, 2020. Hosted by Matt Sepic. Our theme music is by Gary Meister.

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Mpls. theater — home to nonbinary artists — to close after 15 years

Mpls. theater — home to nonbinary artists — to close after 15 years

Over the past fourteen years, 20% Theatre Company has provided a home for transgender and gender nonconforming artists to create and perform new work. Artists say it’s changed the Twin Cities theater scene in the process.
by Marianne Combs

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Line 3 dispute could cost Walz another commissioner

Line 3 dispute could cost Walz another commissioner

The top Republican in the Minnesota Senate says another Walz commissioner is under scrutiny after this week's decision to further challenge the Line 3 oil pipeline project.
by Tim Pugmire

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Trump, while attacking mail voting, casts mail ballot again

Trump, while attacking mail voting, casts mail ballot again

He voted by mail in Tuesday's Florida primaries, but avoided the Postal Service, instead opting to give his ballot to a third party to turn in, a practice Republicans call "ballot harvesting."
by Miles Parks

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Steamy tropical air mass returns

Tropical air mass returns to Minnesota.
by Paul Huttner

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Ex-FBI lawyer admits to false statement during Russia probe

A former FBI lawyer pleaded guilty Wednesday to altering a document related to the secret surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser during the Russia investigation.
by The Associated Press

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Listen: Jill Biden and other notable speeches at day 2 of the DNC

Listen: Jill Biden and other notable speeches at day 2 of the DNC

Speech highlights from Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention, including Jill Biden’s keynote address.

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'Fallout' tells the story of the journalist who exposed the 'Hiroshima Cover-Up'

Lesley M.M. Blume's new book tells the story of John Hersey, the young journalist whose on-the-ground reporting in Hiroshima, Japan, exposed the world to the devastation of nuclear weapons.
by Dave Davies

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Harris seizes historic moment in accepting VP nomination

Harris seizes historic moment in accepting VP nomination

In her acceptance speech Wednesday, the California senator mixed her polish as a former prosecutor with deeply personal tales of her upbringing to argue that she and Joe Biden can rejuvenate a country ravaged by a pandemic and deeply divided by partisan bitterness.
by The Associated Press

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'Veritas' asks how a respected scholar could be duped by a bumbling fraudster

'Veritas' asks how a respected scholar could be duped by a bumbling fraudster

Author Ariel Sabar explores the lives of Harvard's Karen King and of Walter Fritz, the porn producer who convinced her the papyrus fragment he gave her — "The Gospel of Jesus's Wife" — was genuine.
by Tom Gjelten

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San Francisco blanketed in smoke as California fires rage

San Francisco blanketed in smoke as California fires rage

Thousands of people were under orders to evacuate in areas surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area Wednesday as nearly 40 wildfires blazed across the state amid a blistering heat wave now in its second week. Smoke blanketed San Francisco.
by The Associated Press

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'Black Bottom Saints' is a gorgeous swirl of fiction, history and Detroit motor oil

'Black Bottom Saints' is a gorgeous swirl of fiction, history and Detroit motor oil

Alice Randall's innovative new novel chronicles the history of Black Detroit beyond Motown, and features a cast of real life artists, doctors, sports figures, activists and movers and shakers.
by Maureen Corrigan

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Target sales surge as Americans lean on big box stores

Target sales surge as Americans lean on big box stores

Target reported recorded-setting sales growth online and at established stores over the past three months, more evidence that big box retailers have become essential points of supply during the pandemic.
by The Associated Press

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Trump wants suburban voters. Do they want him?

Trump wants suburban voters. Do they want him?

Voters in the suburbs helped deliver the White House to Donald Trump in 2016. But this year, support is evaporating. Here’s why.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Postmaster general backs down, but Democrats press for answers and assurances

Postmaster general backs down, but Democrats press for answers and assurances

Democrats did not claim victory after the head of the Postal Service suspended changes to service. Instead, they said they want guarantees about mail delivery and to hear more about how this happened.
by Philip Ewing

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Howard University shaped Kamala Harris' path to political heights

Howard University shaped Kamala Harris' path to political heights

Sen. Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic vice presidential nomination on Wednesday. Her education at a historically Black university seen as the center of Black intellectual life helped pave the way.
by Juana Summers

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Isanti County authorities say missing boy is safe

A boy with developmental disabilities who walked away from his Athens Township home Tuesday night has been located and is safe, the sheriff’s office said Wednesday.
by MPR News Staff

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Minnesota lakes are at their warmest

This is a great week to enjoy area lakes, which are at their warmest of the summer right now, just watch for occasional showers and storms, especially in northern Minnesota.
by Nicole Mitchell

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Northern Minnesota sees strong storms Wednesday

Showers and storms move across northern Minnesota Wednesday, some of which will bring high wind and hail, while the rest of the state remains warm and sunny.
by Nicole Mitchell

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Kanye West petitioning to be on MN ballot

West’s team submitted paperwork and signatures on Tuesday for the musician to be added to the ballot as an independent presidential candidate. MPR News update for August 19, 2020. Hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Our theme music is by Gary Meister.

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Elections panel staff: Keep Kanye West off Wisconsin ballot

Elections panel staff: Keep Kanye West off Wisconsin ballot

Staff for the Wisconsin Elections Commission determined Tuesday that West and running mate Michelle Tidball missed a 5 p.m. deadline on Aug. 5, the last day for independent presidential candidates to submit the required 2,000 signatures of Wisconsin voters to get on the ballot.
by The Associated Press

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Key takeaways from night 2 of the Democratic convention

Key takeaways from night 2 of the Democratic convention

Party leaders tried to blend its past with its future. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter showed up to support Joe Biden. But Democrats also showcased 17 "rising stars," reflecting the party's diversity of race, age, geography and identity. Jill Biden wrapped up Tuesday with a heartfelt pitch for her husband.
by The Associated Press

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Aug. 19 update on COVID-19 in MN: As deaths rise, a plea to 'do the right thing'

Aug. 19 update on COVID-19 in MN: As deaths rise, a plea to 'do the right thing'

“We’re very concerned about the kind of messages — ‘Well, you can just keep testing and people can use their BC, before COVID, behavior,’” the state’s epidemiologist said Wednesday. “We have to work together.”
by MPR News Staff

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Expired jobless benefits cost economy billions, but some states reject Trump's aid

Expired jobless benefits cost economy billions, but some states reject Trump's aid

The expiration of emergency jobless benefits is draining $15 billion a week from the U.S. economy. President Donald Trump has offered to replace half that money, but states have been slow to accept.
by Scott Horsley

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