Feb. 17, 2021

Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a chance of snow. Lows will be from 5 below to 10 below northwest, to 3 above to 3 below zero southeast. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a chance of flurries and highs from 9 to 15. Find the latest from Updraft.

Minnesota school districts will be able to reopen their middle and high school buildings to students starting Feb. 22, Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday.

Education officials said that return will vary as some districts and charter schools — and even individual schools — may have more experience and capacity to bring students back than others.

Walz said that he also intends to step up testing and vaccinations for teachers. He said more than 20 percent of the state's educators have received vaccines. Walz says his goal is to have what he called the bulk of educators vaccinated by March 8 — although it wasn’t clear what exactly that meant.

Families will also have the option to continue distance learning.

Officials in Minneapolis started to lay out their plans to secure the city during the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, facing murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd.

As many as 1,100 police officers and up to 2,000 National Guard soldiers will patrol Twin Cities streets next month.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says the law enforcement presence will ramp up throughout the trial and reach full capacity as jurors start deliberations.

Chauvin's trial starts March 8 at the Hennepin County Government Center. The first three weeks are set aside for jury selection, and opening arguments are expected to begin after that.

Minnesota's COVID-19 cases ticked up slightly Wednesday, although they continue a trend downward week-over-week.

The Health Department on Wednesday reported 783 newly confirmed or probable cases. Known, active cases stayed below 7,000 for the second straight day, the first time that’s happened since late September.

The overall vaccination pace is still trying to take off after falling and then flattening following a late January surge. The state on Wednesday reported nearly 16,000 new vaccinations.

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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