Welcome to Monday, and a week in which the state puts its coronavirus response plan into action. 1. First coronavirus cases reported in the state. Minnesota health officials announced Sunday evening that they've confirmed a second case of coronavirus in the state. The latest case is a resident of Carver County who's in their 50s, and likely was exposed to the virus while traveling in Europe in late February. The patient developed symptoms on March 2 and sought medical treatment on Saturday; testing came back positive Sunday. State health officials said in a news release that they are awaiting confirmation testing by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but “consider the presumptive results actionable.” State health officials say the person is in isolation at home and is recovering. Kris Ehresmann, director for infectious diseases at the Minnesota Department of Health, said state and county health officials are interviewing the patient to determine whether there were possible exposures to other people. MPR News
2. First line of defense under stress. Minnesota’s local public health departments are the first line of defense against COVID-19 and many are understaffed and lacking funding to deal with widespread coronavirus infections. “We certainly could use some more help,” Gina Adasiewicz, deputy public health director for Dakota County, said Friday after a group of local health officials met to discuss virus preparations with U.S. Rep. Angie Craig. After the state’s first case of coronavirus was discovered Friday in Ramsey County, Minnesota will be reliant on local public health departments in its COVID-19 fight. During a pandemic, local public health workers are responsible for monitoring infected patients, making sure people under quarantine have supplies and helping medical providers slow the spread of the virus. Local leaders say they’re up to the task but note that if a large portion of the state’s population gets sick, many local public health departments will be strained. Pioneer Press
3. Biden campaign has work cut out for it in Minnesota. The election night gathering for former Vice President Joe Biden at Elsie’s in northeast Minneapolis could easily have been mistaken for another Tuesday night bowling excursion. There, in the cavernous bar, restaurant and 16-lane bowling alley, about 30 people gathered to watch the results of Super Tuesday, when Biden won Minnesota and nine other states. The magnitude of the victory belied the small group gathered around Corey Day, Biden’s sole paid staffer in Minnesota for the several months leading up to Super Tuesday. Aided by an endorsement from Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who dropped out of the race on the eve of the primary, Biden easily carried a state where he had never appeared as a 2020 candidate, and where he still has negligible campaign infrastructure. If Biden wins the Democratic nomination, that will have to change. “This is going to be a purple state,” Day said in an interview. He foresees a political smackdown in the heartland: “I expect a year like 2004, when you had huge campaign teams for President Bush and John Kerry fighting it out for all the real estate.” Once again the national front-runner, Biden has yet to develop the sort of statewide organization that’s likely to be necessary come the general election contest against President Donald Trump. Star Tribune
4. Peterson decides to run again. U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, who has represented western Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District for three decades, announced Friday he will run again, ending months of speculation about his future in Congress. The 15-term Democrat is the senior member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation, and a consistent outlier in an increasingly polarized U.S. Congress. “This wasn’t an easy decision for me because our country is so polarized right now, but that’s also why I want to ask the voters of western Minnesota to support me again,” Peterson said in a statement. Of all the Democrats in the House, Peterson’s district is the most Republican. Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by 30 points there in 2016. “There aren’t many like me left in Congress,” Peterson said. “Rural Democrats are few and far between and I’m concerned that rural America is getting left behind.” MPR News
5. Immigrants opting out of aid programs. Enrollment in public aid programs has been shrinking in Minnesota — with immigrants leading the exit. Data show drops in the past two years in the number of people using Medical Assistance, the state’s Medicaid program, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. Medical Assistance rolls across Minnesota are down by more than 60,000 people since December 2017 — including some 25,000 non-U.S. citizens, according to state figures obtained by Sahan Journal. Non-citizens made up about 7 percent of all the program’s enrollees during that period yet accounted for nearly 40 percent of that enrollment drop. The drop came after non-citizen enrollment in Medical Assistance actually increased by more than 16,000 people between 2015 and 2017. The reasons for the exodus aren’t clear. Observers say it’s possible people simply may not need the aid as their economic fortunes improve. Immigration advocates, though, also point to the Trump administration’s three-year effort to expand “public charge” rules that can deny green cards and certain visas to immigrants deemed overly reliant on government benefits. Sahan Journal | 
