Minnesota

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota jumped by more than 800 on Saturday — the biggest single-day increase in seven weeks.

Homelessness is driving the growth of tent camps in Minneapolis parks — and COVID-19 is making the situation worse, Hennepin County’s senior administrator of housing stability tells MPR News. The Minneapolis park board says it’ll consider a new resolution next week to reduce the size of the Powderhorn Park encampments — the largest encampments in the city.

More than 40 Black women are running for office in Minnesota this election year, hoping to use their collective political power to respond to George Floyd’s killing.

The newest numbers reveal a rising trend of new COVID-19 cases in several suburban counties around the Twin Cities. Officials say there is no single “hot spot” explanation.

There’s been a bike boom around the world — including in Minnesota — as people look for ways to get around town, to replace the gym, or just to get out of the house amid the pandemic. And that has contributed to a shortage of bicycles and parts.

The newest counts come a day after a key state health official warned Minnesotans against holding “COVID parties” as a way to become infected with the coronavirus in a convenient way. She compared it to Russian roulette.

A 30-year-old man was killed near Dalton when a tornado destroyed a garage where he was working Wednesday night, according to the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office. Two others suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital.

“This is a really, really bad idea,” the state’s infectious disease director said Wednesday of reports that people may be trying to purposely catch the disease as a way to “get it over with.” She compared it to Russian roulette.

Amid calls for police reform, we’ve seen new scrutiny on the use of police officers inside schools. Some school districts in Minnesota are removing school resource officers from their buildings.

With three deaths reported Tuesday, the state remains on a two-week trend of days with deaths mostly in single digits. The newest counts come a day after Rochester and Mankato voted to require mask-wearing in public indoor spaces.