Good Wednesday morning.

Here comes omicron. Minnesota reported more than 16,000 new COVID-19 cases over a four-day New Year’s holiday stretch, up from less than 10,000 a week ago over a similar four-day Christmas holiday period.  It's a 64 percent increase in a week, one of the steepest rises reported yet in the pandemic. The percentage of COVID tests coming back positive is trending at nearly 13 percent — the highest in more than a year and more than double the 5 percent rate officials find concerning. It had slipped to around 7 percent in late December. Data collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show all Minnesota counties except for Norman and Traverse currently with a high level of virus transmission. Cases are skyrocketing in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs.

Nursing homes and other long term care facilities face continuing staff shortages due to COVID.MPR’s Peter Cox reports: At the Homestead at Maplewood long-term care campus northeast of the Twin Cities, Zachary Schmitz has dealt with several rounds of staffing difficulties throughout the pandemic. “It's been just a consistently week by week staffing challenge... And that's kind of how it's always been,” said the administrator at the senior and assisted living campus. The Homestead at Maplewood has had help over the last several weeks from a team of Minnesota National Guard members trained to serve in long-term care facilities across the state. Schmitz said they “were a great relief, especially over the holidays.” Teams of guard members are backfilling at a total of 14 long-term care facilities statewide.

Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn said Tuesday he tested positive for COVID-19 Monday night and has mild symptoms. Hagedorn says he is vaccinated, but because he has kidney cancer his doctors have asked the Mayo Clinic to observe and treat him.  “I will work with the professionals at Mayo until it is safe for me to return to my home in Blue Earth or travel to work in Washington,” Hagedorn said In a statement released by his office. Hagedorn, who represents southern Minnesota in Congress, was first diagnosed with stage IV kidney cancer in February of 2019 shortly after winning his first term and said he responded well to treatment.  In July of last year he announced that the cancer had recurred. 

A five-judge panel is ready to draw new boundaries for Minnesota congressional and legislative districts.MPR’s Tim Pugmire reports: The panel met Tuesday to hear from lawyers representing people who are trying to influence the once-a-decade process through litigation and their own proposed maps. The judges heard arguments for and against four separate proposals. The differences among the four plans are detailed and sometimes hard to detect without a close look. They range from adding or subtracting entire counties from congressional districts to dividing cities or even neighborhoods into different legislative districts. The goal is to make the districts equal in population and representative of the changes the state has experienced in growth over the past decade. The panel will act if the Legislature can't agree on new maps by mid-February. 

MPR’s Matt Sepic reports: A southern Minnesota man pleaded guilty Tuesday to interfering with Capitol Police during the Jan. 6 insurrection.  Federal prosecutors charged Daniel Eugene Johnson, 29, of Austin with obstructing police during the commission of a civil disorder -- a felony. During a video hearing, Johnson admitted entering the Capitol through a broken window then rushing a line of police guarding the east Rotunda doors, allowing more rioters inside. Johnson is the second Minnesotan to plead guilty in connection with the attack. Six others have charges pending.   Johnson's 51-year-old father -- Daryl Johnson of northern Iowa -- pleaded guilty to the same count. It carries a maximum prison term of five years, but the men are not likely to face more than six months because they don't have a history of serious crime. They're due to be sentenced in April.

The Minnesota Reformer reports:Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson initially said he was not driving the county vehicle he crashed into a ditch when he was drunk, according to a search warrant, even claiming a cab driver was behind the wheel.  And Hutchinson was not involved in a request for the Medina police to investigate a journalist who took photos of the smashed vehicle, but other county officials were. 

The Crow Wing County board of commissioners voted 4-1 Tuesday to ask Secretary of State Steve Simon to conduct a forensic audit of the 2020 election results. Supporters of the resolution say many people are raising concerns about the possibility of voter fraud. For the record, Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden in the county 64-34 percent.  Chelsey Perkins of the Brainerd Dispatch reports: In the resolution, the board makes clear it stands by the election process in Crow Wing County — but the fact people continue to raise doubts is an issue in need of addressing. “The Crow Wing County Board continues to have faith in the 2020 election results as valid and reliable but it is equally troubling that there are citizens who still have a sincerely held belief that it was not,” the resolution states. “ … The Crow Wing County Board believes that there is nothing to hide in a free and fair election and if a full forensic audit of the 2020 election can help to restore the faith in our processes, we believe that is a legitimate public policy outcome.” As part of the request, the board asks Simon to “engage election judges of all major political parties in monitoring the process and the results in order to restore universal understanding that our elections are open, free, and fair.”