All Things Considered

Gov. Tim Walz is asking the Legislature to back a $2.7 billion “local jobs and projects” plan that’s considerably larger than the record package that lawmakers passed two years ago. 

Minnesota’s newest COVID-19 data remains muddled by post-holiday reporting lags, but Tuesday’s report offers reasons to be hopeful the surge in cases and hospitalizations may be ready to ebb. Deaths, however, continue to mount.

Slick roads should improve Saturday. Temperatures moderate Sunday.

Some newly elected City Council members say more should be done to help end the conditions which cause the repeated creation and dismantling of the camps.

With vaccines proven to keep people out of the hospital, more and more insurance companies are requiring enrollees to share the cost of COVID-19 treatments. Vaccines and tests remain free, though.

Minnesota continues to struggle with a massive COVID-19 surge that began in the Twin Cities metro area but is swamping much of the state now. The newest data shows more than 67,000 known, active cases, the highest point in the entire pandemic.

Aviation and shipping companies are among the fastest growing emitters in the transportation sector. Even small tweaks to their routes can cut emissions and save money.

The swift onslaught of omicron cases is sending teachers and students home in Minnesota. The exponential rise in absences has forced many districts to pause in-person classes and implement a variety of distance-learning plans for much of the rest of January. 

With the virus spreading rapidly, Minneapolis and St. Paul will soon require proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test to enter places serving food and drink. Some worry the plan will spark new confrontations with patrons.

Minnesota continues to get whacked by a post-holiday COVID surge driven by the omicron mutation. Minneapolis and St. Paul will soon temporarily require either a proof of vaccine or recent negative COVID test for bar and restaurant customers.