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Stories from April 5, 2021

What the cherry blossom bloom can tell us about climate change

What the cherry blossom bloom can tell us about climate change

Kyoto's cherry blossom peak bloom this year was the earliest on record in 1,200 years. That's worth noting, given that when a cherry blossom blooms can tell us a lot about climate change.
by Elena Burnett

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Explainer: Doctor’s testimony details Floyd’s heart activity

Explainer: Doctor’s testimony details Floyd’s heart activity

Dr. Bradford Langenfeld was on duty at Hennepin County Medical Center the night Floyd was brought in after being restrained by police last May, and testified Monday at the trial of one of the officers. Here’s what the doctor saw and what it means.
by The Associated Press

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Explainer: Was officer's knee on Floyd's neck authorized?

Explainer: Was officer's knee on Floyd's neck authorized?

At the time of his May 25 arrest, the neck restraint that Derek Chauvin used was permitted under Police Department policy — provided certain guidelines and conditions were followed. Prosecutors say even if Chauvin's knee on George Floyd's neck was OK by policy, it wasn't OK to pin him for 9 minutes and 29 seconds. 
by The Associated Press

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Minneapolis police chief testifies Floyd's death "not part of our ethics or values"

Minneapolis police chief testifies Floyd's death "not part of our ethics or values" as he takes the stand in a second murder trial against his officers. This is an evening update from MPR News, hosted by Tim Nelson. Music by Gary Meister.

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Break over, Minn. lawmakers ready to tackle budget

Break over, Minn. lawmakers ready to tackle budget

House DFL leaders Monday highlighted some of the budget bills they are rolling out this week. Taxes and spending will be major points of contention as Senate Republicans roll out their own set of competing proposals. 
by Tim Pugmire

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As nursing homes open up, families, operators remember COVID's torment, focus on what's next

As nursing homes open up, families, operators remember COVID's torment, focus on what's next

More than a year into the pandemic, families, administrators, staff and residents are cautiously moving into a post-vaccine life. They do so while holding onto the memories of one of the most devastating years in the history of long-term care. For all, it has been a year of pain and change.
by Peter Cox

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Singer Brandi Carlile talks ambition, avoidance and finally finding her place

Singer Brandi Carlile talks ambition, avoidance and finally finding her place

The six-time Grammy winner got her start as a kid, singing backup for an Elvis impersonator. Her new memoir, “Broken Horses,” is about her early life and the family she's built.
by Terry Gross

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Giving more by giving together

Giving more by giving together

Host Angela Davis will talk about why more people donated money last year with two women involved with giving circles, a way for ordinary people to get involved in philanthropy. 
by Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom

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Wildfire in Theodore Roosevelt National Park triples in size

Wildfire in Theodore Roosevelt National Park triples in size

Firefighters worked Monday to further contain a wildfire in Theodore Roosevelt National Park that tripled in size on Easter, according to the North Dakota Forest Service.
by The Associated Press

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High court nixes Alex Jones' appeal in Newtown shooting case

High court nixes Alex Jones' appeal in Newtown shooting case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was fighting a Connecticut court sanction in a defamation lawsuit brought by relatives of some of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
by The Associated Press

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Minnesota to host FEMA vaccination site at state fairgrounds

Minnesota to host FEMA vaccination site at state fairgrounds

Gov. Tim Walz and the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced plans for a mass vaccination site at the state fairgrounds in Falcon Heights next week that will have the capacity to vaccinate 100,000 Minnesotans against the coronavirus over eight weeks.
by The Associated Press

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As schools reopen in Minnesota, COVID-19 cases climb

As schools reopen in Minnesota, COVID-19 cases climb

State officials say that more than 750 Minnesota schools have confirmed COVID-19 cases, and many are likely from a more contagious, more severe version of the virus that originated in the United Kingdom.
by Catharine Richert and Elizabeth Shockman

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Former Obama official on the surge at the border: 'This is a refugee crisis'

Former Obama official on the surge at the border: 'This is a refugee crisis'

Any effort to address what's happening on the border has to start with root causes in Central America, says Cecilia Muñoz, who was head of the Domestic Policy Council in the Obama administration.
by Rachel Martin

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Why more of us are living to 100

Why more of us are living to 100

Life expectancy is growing. Could 100 be the new 80? Here’s what we’re learning about how to live longer — and live longer well.
by Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

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Record warmth ends as rain returns

Following record warmth Sunday and likely Monday, temperatures cool as Minnesota heads into a much wetter pattern through the end of the week. That wet weather includes a risk for severe storms Monday evening.
by Nicole Mitchell

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Explainer: Legion of Chauvin prosecutors, each with own role

Explainer: Legion of Chauvin prosecutors, each with own role

Viewers watching the trial of a former Minneapolis officer charged with murder in George Floyd 's death may be struck by the array of prosecutors taking turns presenting their case. The choice of who does what is no accident.
by The Associated Press

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More record warmth Monday

Monday is likely to bring portions of Minnesota record warmth, followed by strong storms.
by Nicole Mitchell

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University of Minnesota to add 2nd Indigenous language house

A new University of Minnesota Living Learning Community called the Dakota Language House will launch next fall to advance and support students' learning of the Dakota language.

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April 5 update on COVID-19 in MN: Vaccination pace stable; hospitalizations up

April 5 update on COVID-19 in MN: Vaccination pace stable; hospitalizations up

Minnesota’s most recent COVID-19 data shows the state’s vaccination rate continuing apace while caseloads and hospitalizations rise. Officials, though, cautioned not to read too much into the most recent data given delays in reporting over the Easter weekend.
by MPR News Staff

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Chauvin trial: Floyd restraint violated cops' training, ethics, chief says

Chauvin trial: Floyd restraint violated cops' training, ethics, chief says

Derek Chauvin should have stopped subduing George Floyd once Floyd stopped resisting, Medaria Arradondo told the court in Chauvin’s murder trial. The chief said Chauvin’s use of force on Floyd was not reasonable and outside the bounds of department policy.
by Jon Collins, Riham Feshir, Brandt Williams and Matt Sepic

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Chauvin trial: Chief's testimony nears; lieutenant says force 'uncalled for'

Chauvin’s defense argues that Floyd’s death was caused from the drugs in his body and his underlying health problems and that Chauvin’s use of force was in sync with Police Department policy. A piece of that argument took a hit on Friday when the head of the Minneapolis police homicide unit testified the use of force officers used on Floyd was “totally unnecessary.” This is an MPR News morning update for Monday, April 5, 2021. Hosted by Phil Picardi. Our theme music is by Gary Meister.

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Generation unemployed: Another class of graduates face pandemic-scarred future

Generation unemployed: Another class of graduates face pandemic-scarred future

Although the overall jobs market is starting to come back, youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, creating a lot of anxiety among the latest class of college and high school seniors.
by Sam Gringlas

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Billions from feds: Headache or blessing for Minn. budget writers?

Billions from feds: Headache or blessing for Minn. budget writers?

Almost $8 billion — more if you count other assistance — will come into Minnesota as part of the latest federal pandemic legislation. It throws a curveball into state budget negotiations.
by Brian Bakst

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Humankind documentary: Libraries Reimagined

Humankind documentary: Libraries Reimagined

For National Library Week, the first of a two-part series of documentaries from Humankind about the future of libraries. “Libraries Reimagined.”

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NCAA women's final: Stanford wins championship with victory over Arizona

NCAA women's final: Stanford wins championship with victory over Arizona

Arizona's early defense kept Stanford from running away with the game, but the Cardinals held off the Wildcats to win 54-53 in its first NCAA women's basketball championship since 1992.
by Chloee Weiner

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With mini helicopter on Mars, NASA hopes to reinvent flight 'on another world'

With mini helicopter on Mars, NASA hopes to reinvent flight 'on another world'

The four-pound helicopter, called Ingenuity, made the long journey from Earth stowed away underneath the Perseverance rover. On Saturday, NASA confirmed that Ingenuity had safely separated from the rover and dropped to Mars' surface.
by Chloee Weiner

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Photos: People's Power Love Fest at George Floyd Square

Photos: People's Power Love Fest at George Floyd Square

With bright sunshine and unseasonable warmth making it feel more like summer, George Floyd Square in south Minneapolis hosted the People’s Power Love Fest on Sunday.
by MPR News Staff

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Door by door, backers of Minneapolis public safety reform effort seek community support

Door by door, backers of Minneapolis public safety reform effort seek community support

Minneapolis residents may see multiple approaches to public safety reform on the ballot this November. Sunday was the final day for backers of one of those efforts — the Yes 4 Minneapolis coalition — to collect signatures to put their proposed city charter amendment before voters.
by Kathryn Styer Martinez

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