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Stories from November 29, 2021

Minnesota is bracing for Omicron and possibly more school shutdowns

Minnesota is bracing for Omicron and possibly more school shutdowns. Also president Joe Biden will be in the Twin Cities on Tuesday afternoon. This is an evening update from MPR News, hosted by Tim Nelson. Music by Gary Meister.

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Military team arrives to support beleaguered St. Cloud Hospital

Military team arrives to support beleaguered St. Cloud Hospital

The 23-member team of doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists will work alongside staff in areas where they are most needed, including the intensive care unit, surgical wards and the emergency room.
by Kirsti Marohn

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Amazon warehouse workers get to redo their union vote in Alabama

Amazon warehouse workers get to redo their union vote in Alabama

A federal labor official has ordered a revote in the biggest Amazon union election in the U.S. The agency found the company's anti-union tactics tainted the original vote that rejected unionizing.
by Alina Selyukh

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The Bidens unveil their first White House Christmas decorations

The Bidens unveil their first White House Christmas decorations

With some holiday spirit and over 100 volunteers, the White House has been decorated in the theme of "gifts from the heart." The theme honors frontline workers, first responders and the military.
by Tien Le

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Dr. Rahul Koranne on what MN hospitals need to face surging patient volume

Minnesota hospitals are overrun with patients, and as new variants of the coronavirus like omicron arise, the pandemic shows no signs of stopping. Dr. Rahul Koranne, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association, told Cathy Wurzer what hospitals need to deal with surging patient volume.
by Cathy Wurzer

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Panel aims to stop violence against African American women

Panel aims to stop violence against African American women

Minnesota officials launched the state’s new Task Force on Missing and Murdered African American Women on Monday. The group will spend the next year looking at the systemic causes of violence against Black women and then recommend policy changes.
by Tim Pugmire

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The future of abortion access in Minnesota

The future of abortion access in Minnesota

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear on Wednesday a case that challenges Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks and is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. Three legal experts talk about how we got here and what will happen to abortion rights and access in Minnesota if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
by Susan Davis and Chris Farrell

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Answering today's problems with yesterday's fairy tales

Answering today's problems with yesterday's fairy tales

Jack Zipes thinks that answers to the major cultural and political quandaries of today can be found in the fairy tales of the past. Host Cathy Wurzer spoke with the celebrated University of Minnesota professor and “cultural excavator” about the history of fairy tales and his new press, Little Mole and Honey Bear.
by Cathy Wurzer and Kelly Gordon

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'Heaven is going to be when your hair smells like lake water'

'Heaven is going to be when your hair smells like lake water'

Emily Buermann shares a story about her great-grandmother’s vision of heaven as part of the We Are Water MN project.
by Cathy Wurzer

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A second life for a small-town newspaper in MN — thanks to a tech company in NJ

A second life for a small-town newspaper in MN — thanks to a tech company in NJ

This summer, the International Falls Journal, a long-running Minnesota community paper, went dark — only to be brought back to life by a tech company in New Jersey. The CEO of that company and the longtime editor of the International Falls Journal spoke about how and why with host Cathy Wurzer.
by Cathy Wurzer and Kelly Gordon

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MPR News reporter Jon Collins takes us inside the coverage of the Potter trial

MPR News reporter Jon Collins takes us inside the coverage of the Potter trial

The trial of Kimberly Potter, the former police officer charged with killing Daunte Wright, begins Tuesday with jury selection. Jon Collins, the lead reporter on the trial for MPR News, told host Cathy Wurzer about how reporters and editors decide what to cover and how in high-profile trials.
by Cathy Wurzer and Melissa Townsend

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What MN hospitals need now to face surging patient volume in a pandemic

What MN hospitals need now to face surging patient volume in a pandemic

Minnesota hospitals are overrun with patients, and as new variants of the coronavirus like omicron arise, the pandemic shows no signs of stopping. Dr. Rahul Koranne, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association, told Cathy Wurzer what hospitals need to deal with surging patient volume.
by Cathy Wurzer and Julia Franz

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Homemade and heartfelt gifts cheer both giver and receiver

Homemade and heartfelt gifts cheer both giver and receiver

Do you bake or craft? MPR News guest host Stephanie Curtis talks to people who are making gifts for the holidays as a way to relieve pandemic stress and pass on joy from the heart. 
by Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom

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Lee Elder, 1st Black golfer to play Masters, dies at age 87

Lee Elder, 1st Black golfer to play Masters, dies at age 87

Golf pioneer Lee Elder has died at the age of 87. Elder broke down racial barriers as the first Black golfer to play in the Masters, and he paved the way for Tiger Woods and others to follow. 
by The Associated Press

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Hanukkah isn't Jewish Christmas. Here's the story of the holiday and why we celebrate.

Hanukkah isn't Jewish Christmas. Here's the story of the holiday and why we celebrate.

Jewish families haven't always given presents on Hanukkah — it only dates to the 1880s. Arthur Levine's kids' book “The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol” imagines a fanciful origin for the tradition.
by Scott Simon

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Some immigrant parents say St. Paul school closures would hurt their communities

Some immigrant parents say St. Paul school closures would hurt their communities

Somali American parents in St. Paul say a plan to close Highwood Hills Elementary would endanger a neighborhood hub. Latino parents say they weren’t included in the decision to close Wellstone Elementary. With a school-board vote coming soon, immigrant parents want to be heard.
by Becky Z. Dernbach

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Mario Vargas Llosa explores 1954 Guatemalan coup in new novel

Mario Vargas Llosa explores 1954 Guatemalan coup in new novel

Harsh Times, set in the 1950s, is historical fiction centering on events of a CIA-backed coup to overthrow Guatemala's democratically-elected government led by Jacobo Árbenz.
by Scott Simon, Isabella Gomez Sarmiento and Mia Estrada

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New variant cause for concern, not panic, Biden tells U.S.

New variant cause for concern, not panic, Biden tells U.S.

President Joe Biden is urging Americans to get vaccinated, including booster shots, as he seeks to quell concerns over the newly identified COVID-19 variant named omicron. But he said Monday he won't be seeking any severe business or other widespread lockdowns.
by The Associated Press

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Barn owl nest documented in Wisconsin for 1st time in 20 years

In a rare sighting, the first barn owl nest was documented in the state of Wisconsin in more than two decades after a La Crosse resident spotted an owlet in their backyard, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
by The Associated Press

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Mild week ahead across Minnesota

A system moving across Minnesota Monday brings areas of precipitation, mild temperatures and breezier winds by the afternoon.
by Nicole Mitchell

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Temperatures turn milder again for Minnesota on Monday

A system moving across Minnesota Monday brings areas of precipitation, mild temperatures and breezier winds by the afternoon.
by Nicole Mitchell

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Wary, weary world slams doors shut in face of new variant

Wary, weary world slams doors shut in face of new variant

Nations around the world sought Monday to keep the new omicron variant at bay with travel bans and further restrictions, even as it remains unclear what it means for the COVID-19 pandemic.
by The Associated Press

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Security tightens at Hennepin County Government Center ahead of Potter trial

Jury selection begins Tuesday in the trial of Kimberly Potter, a former Brooklyn Center police officer charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright. Skyway and tunnel connections to the government center will remain shut down during the trial and parking in the underground ramp is closed to the public. This is an MPR News morning update for Monday, November 29, 2021. Hosted by Cathy Wurzer. Our theme music is by Gary Meister.

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Explainer: What are the charges ex-cop Kimberly Potter faces?

Explainer: What are the charges ex-cop Kimberly Potter faces?

Prosecutors argue that Kimberly Potter, who quit the Brooklyn Center police force two days after the shooting, committed first- and second-degree manslaughter when she killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright during an April 11 traffic stop.
by Steve Karnowski, Associated Press

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Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year

Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year

The selection follows "vax" as word of the year from the folks who publish the Oxford English Dictionary. And it comes after Merriam-Webster chose "pandemic" as tops in lookups last year on its online site.
by The Associated Press

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'The Ghost Tracks' is heartwarming horror fiction

'The Ghost Tracks' is heartwarming horror fiction

Celso Hurtado's YA horror novel combines a real San Antonio legend with classic elements of YA narratives to tell a story of friendship that explores the possibility of the supernatural.
by Gabino Iglesias

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'Jade Legacy,' final in the Green Bone Saga trilogy, is about endings

'Jade Legacy,' final in the Green Bone Saga trilogy, is about endings

The Damocles threat Fonda Lee has let dangle over this entire series is that no one in these pages is ever safe — the world she has created is dangerous and everyone in it has a place where they end.
by Jason Sheehan

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Source: Twins, Buxton agree on 7-year, $100M contract

Source: Twins, Buxton agree on 7-year, $100M contract

The Minnesota Twins and center fielder Byron Buxton agreed to a seven-year, $100 million contract Sunday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
by The Associated Press

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