Health

Health
Minnesota to expand COVID-19 testing options in schools
The state is making rapid at-home tests available to districts that request them. It’s also handing out grant money to districts that want to hire additional staff or need other help with the logistics of regular testing in schools. 
Minneapolis police PTSD claims push overall workers' comp claims to highest in a decade
Workers’ compensation spending in the city jumped to over $14 million in 2020, with Minneapolis police officers accounting for most of the claims, according to a staff presentation to a Minneapolis City Council committee on Wednesday.
Minneapolis welcomes $500K in private funds for police early intervention system
Some Minneapolis City Council members took issue with how a $500,000 grant for a police early intervention system got in front of them. However, the gift from the Pohlad Family Foundation is on track for final approval by the council.
DFL lawmakers, unions push for end to pay stalemate
Democrats working on the “hero pay” commission say bonuses should go to a large pool of pandemic workers. Republicans want to limit the number of workers who are eligible so that each one gets a bigger bonus.
COVID-19 in MN: Hospitalizations surge outside Twin Cities as cases climb
Minnesota’s spreading COVID-19 outbreak has been pummeling greater Minnesota for weeks, and hospitals are feeling the impact. For the first time in the pandemic, there are more COVID patients hospitalized in greater Minnesota than in the metro area.
Flush with COVID-19 aid, schools steer funding to sports
A growing number of school districts in the U.S. are using federal pandemic funding on athletics projects. One school district in Iowa is spending $100,000 on a weight room renovation, while another in Wisconsin is spending $1.6 million on new synthetic turf fields.
St. Paul to introduce some of the strictest tobacco rules in the nation
The City Council on Wednesday will introduce a new ordinance that would set a $10 minimum price on a pack of cigarettes and ban coupons and other discounts at retail outlets, among other things.