Good morning, and happy Tuesday

The latest call for Minnesotans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 comes from top officials at state hospital systems. MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports they ran a full-page ad in the Sunday Star Tribune. "Many of the sickest patients that we see, that was avoidable,” said Essentia Health CEO Dr. David Herman. “And to see patients so sick, to see the suffering that the patients experience, and the suffering that their families experience is heartbreaking." Essentia has hospitals and clinics across northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. The biggest challenge at all of those facilities is staffing, said Herman. Not only are staff leaving, in part because of the overwhelming work, he said many are forced to quarantine each week after testing positive for COVID-19. Across Minnesota, the percentage of all available hospital beds is at the lowest point it's been since the pandemic started.

A woman convicted of killing her newborn left prison almost four years early under a supervised release plan approved Monday by Minnesota’s pardons board. Brian Bakst reports Samantha Heiges, 35, was let out of the prison in Shakopee Monday after serving 12 years. She will remain under supervision through 2033 and is now under the jurisdiction of Anoka County Community Corrections officials, according to state prison records. Heiges was convicted in 2008 in the drowning death of her newborn in 2005. She told the board, made up of Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Chief Justice Lorie Gildea and Attorney General Keith Ellison, in November that she is deeply remorseful and had been in an abusive relationship at the time. She has testified that she feared for her own life or a worse outcome for the baby if she didn’t act. Her supporters say her release from custody will enable her to renew her bond with another daughter who is now a teenager.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin appears to be on the verge of pleading guilty to violating George Floyd's civil rights,  according to a notice from the court. A federal docket entry on Monday showed that a hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday for Chauvin to change his current not-guilty plea in the case. These types of notices indicate a defendant is planning to plead guilty. Chauvin has already been convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges for pinning his knee against Floyd’s neck as the Black man said he couldn’t breathe during a May 25, 2020 arrest. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in the state case. Chauvin and three other former officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — were set to go to trial in late January on those charges.

MPR’s Peter Cox reported St. Paul and Ramsey County are jointly putting nearly $75 million toward affordable housing in St. Paul and the county. City and county leaders say the money will help expand affordable housing in the county by creating up to 1,000 permanent units in St. Paul at 30 percent of the area median income, which means for someone making about $34,000 per year. "We're short about 15,000 units of affordable housing today in Ramsey County and so this funding will go directly to creating new affordable housing,” said Ramsey County Commissioner Trista MatasCastillo. “And we've dedicated these funds not just for housing in general, but specifically at that 30 percent AMI which is what our biggest need is for our population.” The hope is that the money will help to push projects forward and create new housing in the next two to five years.

There’s one fewer Republican running for governor. Candidate Mike Marti suspended his campaign Monday. He said on Twitter he enjoyed campaigning across the state and urged others in the race to keep non-metro Minnesota in mind. He did not endorse any other candidate.  

Via Press Release: The Republican Party of Minnesota has a new executive director. Chair David Hann said Monday he has hired Michael Lonergan for the job. Lonergan previously was communications director for the Republican Party of Kentucky. He has also worked for New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and the Ohio Republican Party.