Bar-driven cluster surfaces in southern Minn.

Hot and sunny then potent storms tomorrow. Thursday’s forecast pretty much sums up what typical Minnesota summer weather looks like: It starts off with the bright sun and warm temperature in the 80s across the state, then caps off with clouds, rain and thunderstorms in the evening. The storms will likely linger overnight. Damaging winds, hail and even isolated tornadoes are possible, especially for southwestern Minnesota.

St. Paul's school board severs ties with the city police. Following a similar move in Minneapolis, the St. Paul school board voted Tuesday night to end its contract with the city’s Police Department, saying “Divesting in police is investing in Black lives.” The vote means seven school resource officers currently employed at St. Paul Public Schools will not return to schools after the end of this month when the district’s current contract with the Police Department ends.

Why are many schools pushing police out of their buildings? Data show that schools with cops are more likely to refer children to law enforcement, including for nonserious violent behaviors . And children of color, especially Black students, are more likely to fall victim to that practice, studies found. "What is happening in schools around the country is, instead of figuring out how to help that [student] who's having a difficult time by having counselors, we meet these kids with force,” says Jesse Hagopian, a teacher and activist in Seattle.

27 states around the country are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Check out how Minnesota and other states are doing. Case counts in Texas and Florida have rapidly risen to 4,195 and 3,342 daily cases respectively the past week. In the Upper Midwest, the daily case count in Iowa is also growing, with over 300 cases reported daily for the past week. See the case trends in the U.S. and individual states across the country here.

COVID-19 in Minnesota today: 5 new deaths; 4 consecutive days with daily death counts in the single digits. The numbers of daily new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and ICU patients reported also plateaued somewhat. Health officials reported 304 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. 340 people are currently hospitalized, with 160 in intensive care.