It is a stormy start to Tuesday for many Minnesotans. We're expecting some very welcome rain Tuesday. Rainfall totals over an inch are possible across parts of central and southern Minnesota. Unfortunately, only light rain is expected over the fire zone in northeast Minnesota, more on that below. The latest on the Updraft.
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Students use tape on the hallway floor to socially distance while walking to the cafeteria Jan. 19, 2021 at Park Brook Elementary School in Brooklyn Park. Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News File |
Without statewide requirements, school districts must decide for themselves what kind of safety measures will be in place to prevent the spread COVID-19 as students return for the fall.
Many schools have already announced whether or not they will require masks or vaccinations. But some worry that at the rate the delta variant spreads their plans will need to change quickly.
In the St. Francis public school district, school leaders have announced that masks will be optional for students and staff. But they're watching county case counts closely.
If the seven-day case rate per 10,000 rises above 50, the district plans to require masks for preschool through fifth grade students. If that rate goes above 100, everyone in the school will be required to mask.
“We do have levels and thresholds that we consider to be problematic,” Superintendent Beth Giese said. “Our district has looked at it from the angle of, what did we do when we had the flu?”
Read more about how school leaders approached these decisions in the full report by Elizabeth Shockman. | |
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Smoke from the Greenwood Fire spreads across the side near the township of Murphy City in northeast Minnesota on Aug. 23, 2021. Courtesy of the USDA Forest Service |
The situation worsened in northeast Minnesota as two wildfires in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Superior National Forest grew Monday amid gusty winds and continuing drought conditions.
The largest, the Greenwood Fire, started to move east, prompting evacuations in the Kitigan, Grouse and Mitewan Lake areas.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service says the John Ek fire on the western edge of Cook County has grown to about 2,000 acres — over double the 800 acres reported early Monday.
Forecasters are hoping conditions improve somewhat with the weather.
"Later in the week, temperatures are going to moderate, so we'll actually have some days in the 60s with chances of precipitation so much better weather that is conducive to gaining on a fire,” Clark McCreedy with the fire's incident management team said.
Read more by Matt Sepic. | |
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The Superior National Forest's decision on Saturday to close the Boundary Waters Canoe Area was a shock to the many canoeists with trips planned this week, and to the many businesses in northeastern Minnesota that outfit those paddlers with gear and food.
Outfitters say that visitors have been understanding of the reasons: the wildfires, the ongoing extreme drought, and a lack of resources to respond to emergencies.
But the cancellations take a toll.
"[Before this] I've never had cancellations of like tens of thousands of dollars being returned to our clients because of a complete closure of the BWCA," said Jason Zabokrtsky, who owns Ely Outfitting Company.
Some travelers are staying the course though, traveling to Ely and picking destinations outside the Boundary Waters to explore.
Read more about them in this story by Dan Kraker. | |
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