Good morning. Today we've got a fresh batch of news, with a look at how COVID-19 might impact sugarbeet harvests, and a Minneapolis man who has his own beats — all about hot peppers. A potentially blustery Thursday.
September breeze coming through! Today is expected to be sunny, but windy and a little cooler in temps with a high for the Twin Cities near 70. Behind the cool front, gusty northwest winds could exceed 40 mph in western Minnesota. Read more on Updraft. Sugarbeet growers and processors hire thousands of workers each year of the harvest. This year they need to protect them from COVID-19 to ensure the harvest is brought in. In early October, when it's cold enough to stockpile the beets for processing through the winter, the harvest shifts into high gear. When that happens, workers come from across the country to help to bring in the haul. Weather is typically the biggest harvest concern. But this year, COVID-19 has everyone, from farmers to processors, nervous.
Health Department officials worried for weeks that Minnesotans would bring back COVID-19 from Sturgis motorcycle rally. Now they have 50 direct cases, secondary spread — and one death.
That news Wednesday served as grim reinforcement for the message health officials continue to try to hammer home: The pandemic is not nearly over in Minnesota despite a low daily death count and a relatively stable number of hospitalizations.
Here are the latest coronavirus statistics in Minnesota: 77,085 cases confirmed (761 new) via 1,525,555 tests (26,636 new) 1,830 deaths (seven new) 6,566 cases requiring hospitalization 297 currently hospitalized; 135 in intensive care 69,521 patients no longer needing isolation Now for a little news that has nothing to do with the coronavirus: Rob Coleman has amassed a YouTube following for sharing the secrets to growing his beloved hot peppers, often to some catchy beats. A passion for peppers — and heat — has inspired Coleman to grow about 100 varieties of some of the spiciest hot peppers in the world, all in his front yard in the unlikely climate of southwest Minneapolis. Coleman loves growing and eating hot peppers so much that he even launched a YouTube channel, 7 Pot Club, which draws nearly 12,000 subscribers from around the world. -- Matt Mikus, MPR News | @mikusmatt | 