Aug. 19, 2020

Steamy tropical air mass on the way. Southerly wind flow returns to Minnesota through Friday. That means another sticky tropical air mass blows into Minnesota. Dew points in the 60s to near 70 degrees are expected to pool and ride north once again Thursday and Friday. Find more details on the Updraft blog.

There’s been a spike in COVID-19 fatalities. The state health department is reporting 17 additional deaths, the highest daily count in two months. State Infectious Disease Division Director Kris Ehresmann said it’s too soon to tell if the spike in deaths may be the result of an uptick in positive cases several weeks ago. "One day doesn't make a trend."

Minnesota Senate Republicans are expected to grill state Commerce Commissioner Steve Kelley this week. That's due to DFL Gov. Tim Walz's challenge to the Line 3 oil pipeline project. The Commerce Department announced plans Tuesday to appeal state utility regulators’ decision earlier this year to approve Enbridge Energy’s proposal to replace a deteriorating pipeline that crosses northern Minnesota with a new, larger pipe along a different route. Kelley is scheduled to appear before two Senate committees Friday for a confirmation hearing.

Stock in Minneapolis-based Target soared 12 percent Wednesday as the retailer reported record-setting sales growth online and at established stores over the past three months. Internet sales surged 195 percent from the same period last year, and same-store sales jumped more than 10 percent.

You can get more of the latest news, in less than five minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast.

~Matt Sepic, MPR News

Two friends. One stranger. And a chance encounter on a sailboat.

People across the country know how George Floyd died, but there has been less attention on who he was before his death. Two people, Floyd’s housemate and a man who was a stranger to Floyd, joined MPR News host Angela Davis to talk about their time sailing on Bde Maka Ska.

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Live updates: Third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention

Kamala Harris is poised to make history on Wednesday as the first Black woman to accept a spot on a major party's presidential ticket, a moment intended to galvanize Democratic voters heading into the fall campaign against President Donald Trump. Other speakers include: Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. Watch the speeches live beginning at 8 p.m.

Trump, while attacking mail voting, casts mail ballot again

President Trump cast a vote-by-mail ballot in Florida this week, after months of questioning the security of the method of voting, and in doing so he returned it to election officials using a technique many Republicans say should be illegal.

1 in 5 child care jobs were lost since pandemic started. Women are affected most

Of the many sectors of the American economy slammed by the coronavirus pandemic, the businesses and individuals who provide child care to an estimated 12 million children under age five are among the hardest hit.

Mpls. theater — home to nonbinary artists — to close after 15 years

Over the past fourteen years, 20% Theatre Company has provided a home for transgender and gender nonconforming artists to create and perform new work. Artists say it’s changed the Twin Cities theater scene in the process.

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