Feb. 19, 2021
The weather is warming up — highs reach the 20s and 30s this weekend across much of the state. At this point, it looks like the Twin Cities metro area will see about an inch of snow Sunday into Sunday evening, with some two-inch or higher totals possible in far southern Minnesota. Find the latest from Updraft. A new report shows many Minnesota families kept their kindergarten students home this year or enrolled them in private schools. Overall public school enrollment declined by 2 percent, or almost 20,000 students this academic year. That drop was driven in large part by a 9 percent drop in kindergarten enrollment. There was a 12.4 percent increase in private schools kindergarten enrollment. Home school numbers increased by nearly 50 percent this academic year. Eight reported COVID-19 deaths on Friday raised Minnesota’s toll to 6,412. Among those who’ve died, about 63 percent had been living in long-term care or assisted living facilities; most had underlying health problems. Known, active cases ticked above 7,000, but the overall trend is good with the numbers hovering around late September levels. The seven-day hospital admissions trend for people with COVID-19 has also receded to where we were five months ago. Minnesota hospitals were treating 282 people with COVID-19 as of Thursday. It was a second consecutive day of hospitalizations below 300, the first time that’s happened since the fall.
You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Nina Moini | MPR News | 
