Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday. It'll be sunny and hot again today with highs in the mid-80s to mid-90s — cooler near Lake Superior. There's a chance for some much-needed thunderstorms after midnight. More on that to come.
Landlords battle Walz, tenants over eviction ban
The Minnesota Multi Housing Association, a Minnesota landlord group, asked a federal court to end Gov. Tim Walz's executive order that bans most evictions. Some landlords say the moratorium has deprived the rights of property owners to manage their units.
The Legislature could step in and change the rules before a judge steps into this case, though. A proposed deal, voted on later this week, creates a phased eviction moratorium off-ramp, with some protections lasting into June 2022. Some groups supporting tenants welcomed the deal.
Brian Bakst has the full story.
Hottest June on record so far
The first 13 days of June in the Twin Cities and much of Minnesota were the hottest on record. The state has smashed several other heat wave records, too.
And we desperately need rain, which looks like it will finally arrive — in small amounts — into western Minnesota by afternoon and move through the state overnight. Spotty thunderstorms are also possible between 7 p.m. Wednesday and 1 a.m. Thursday.
Daily COVID-19 cases dip below 100
Public health leaders worried the end of the statewide mask mandate last month might lead to an uptick in COVID-19 cases, but so far that hasn't been the case.
Daily cases identified by state testing fell below 100 Tuesday for the first time in more than a year. Our vaccination pace, though, has slowed to a trickle. That 70 percent vaccinated by July 1 goal now doesn't look likely until August. We're currently at 65.8 percent of Minnesotans 16 and older with at least one vaccine dose and 61.4 percent completely vaccinated.
Read the latest on COVID-19 in Minnesota here.
MPR News programming update
Some changes are happening on the radio programming side of MPR News. Kerri Miller's 9 a.m. show ends Sept. 7, and Angela Davis will begin hosting that hour. Miller will host a new show focused on books, Fridays at 11 a.m. Plus: longtime MPR News Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer gets a new show during the noon hour — focusing on the day's news through a Minnesota lens.
— Grace Birnstengel, MPR News | Find me on Twitter @grace__ | 
