Morning Edition

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Morning Edition, with Cathy Wurzer in St. Paul and NPR hosts in Washington and Los Angeles, brings you all the news from overnight and the information you need to start your day. Listen from 4 to 9 a.m. every weekday.

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Small businesses race to get financial help amid pandemic — but will it be enough to survive?
Small businesses across Minnesota have been approved for $9 billion dollars in paycheck protection plan loans. Now, they’re trying to figure out how they can best use the money to try to survive the COVID-19 crisis.
April 17 update on COVID-19 in MN: Deaths rise to 111; Walz eases some outdoor curbs
Gov. Walz mixed optimism with vigilance Friday, urging Minnesotans to enjoy more outdoor activities but warning against a false sense of security about the disease as he confirmed new cases tied to a massive pork processing plant in Worthington.
A number of local executives will be advising the White House in the coming weeks on how to restart the economy, while protecting people’s health. They're part of a 219-member panel named by the Trump Administration Tuesday. Among the names on the list is Life Time Fitness Founder and CEO Bahram Akradi. Akradi spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer Thursday morning.
Local farmers, reliant on shuttered schools and restaurants, find new markets
Thousands of Minnesota farms grow food that supply schools, restaurants and families with everything from meat to vegetables to flour. The coronavirus pandemic has turned many of those markets upside down.
Smithfield Foods closes plants in Wisconsin, Missouri
Smithfield Foods will temporarily close its plants in Cudahy, Wis., and Martin City, Mo., because of the coronavirus pandemic. Smithfield said a small number of employees at both plants have tested positive for COVID-19. The company’s Sioux Falls, S.D., plant is closed indefinitely after an outbreak there.
Gov. Tim Walz coined the phrase “Minnesota moonshot” to refer to his goal for COVID-19 testing in the coming weeks. Professor Rebecca Wurtz at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health spoke with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about some of the logistics of how this expanded testing might work.
Portraits of Valor: Dan Cylkowski, 94, Army
The son of a World War I veteran and with a brother in the Air Corps, he was proud to join the Army: “…I’m going there to serve my country.”