MPR News PM Update
Sept. 16, 2020

Here comes the cold. Tonight will have clear skies and widespread frost in the northern half of the state. Lows will be near 30 in the north and 40 in the south. Tomorrow will be sunny with highs in the mid 50s to lower 60s, with more frost tomorrow night in the north. More on the Updraft weather blog.

The U’s football Gophers will be back on the field late next month, after the Big 10 announced today it was reversing its decision to cancel the season.

The conference nixed the games in August, but now says they can be played safely in conjunction with daily testing for participants. The Gophers went 11 and 2 last season, and will play nine games in a schedule to be announced soon.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota State High School League is reconsidering its decision to cancel fall sports, potentially opening the door for football and volleyball to resume across the state.

More drama with the Minneapolis police department today. The city said it was ending negotiations to lease a new building for its 3rd police precinct, the station house destroyed by arsonists among the protesters gathered in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. Opponents had been fighting the relocation, as part of their call to dismantle the Minneapolis police department.

The latest on COVID-19 in Minnesota: Seven deaths reported Wednesday, two of them in long term care settings. The latest numbers show little change in Minnesota’s coronavirus outbreak from recent trends, with new cases and deaths flat week-over-week.

Testing fell well below the average for the previous week, as did the number of confirmed cases. The percent of tests confirming COVID-19, however, was back at 5 percent for a second day, after dipping recently. Health officials have expressed concern about the positivity rate for tests in the past.

You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast.

-- Tim Nelson | MPR News

 
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