Sept. 15, 2020

September cooldown. Tonight, look for partly cloudy skies with lows in the mid 40s to lower 50s northwest, to near 60 southeast. Tomorrow will be cooler and mostly sunny with highs in the mid 50s to lower 60s north, to upper 60s to mid 70s south. More on the Updraft weather blog.

Minneapolis council members talk about crime in neighborhoods and lack of police response.

Minneapolis City Council members peppered Police Chief Medaria Arradondo with questions Tuesday about what the Police Department is doing to address crime in their wards. During a study session on public safety, council members complained that crimes like carjackings, robberies and shootings have increased.

Arradondo told council members that the department has instituted several measures, including adding more officers to patrol and investigation duties and cracking down on robberies.

The state has launched a statewide study to find out where COVID-19 is more prevalent. State Health Department employees are going door-to-door in randomly selected neighborhoods this week with a slate of questions about where people spend time, whether anyone in the house has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and what information they'd like about the virus. They'll also offer free nasal swabs and serology tests.

In other COVID news, Minnesota health officials reported five additional deaths due to the coronavirus Tuesday, as the 7-day average death toll hit its highest point since June. At the same time, hospitalizations are trending down. The state is showing some noticeable regional variation, with per capita cases rising again in Southwest and West Central Minnesota in recent days.

Early voting in Minnesota for the general election starts Friday. Do you plan to vote early or will you wait until Election Day? #TellMPRNews

You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. -- Tim Nelson | MPR News

Why climate change is producing more frequent thick smoke over Minnesota

Thick smoke plumes drifting across Minnesota from western wildfires are blotting out the sun Tuesday. The data clearly shows climate change is increasing the number of smoky sky days above Minnesota.

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MPR President Duchesne Drew on Marianne Combs resignation

Veteran MPR News reporter Marianne Combs resigned Monday morning from her position at the newsroom. MPR News President Duchesne Drew said he was shocked by the resignation.

Two campaign aides shot in Minneapolis

Two off-duty campaign staffers were shot in Minneapolis Monday. A teen died at the scene of the shooting. Another man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds. Both were members of the campaign team of Republican congressional candidate Lacy Johnson.

Feds reject petition to place moose on endangered species list

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has denied a petition made five years ago by two environmental groups to grant endangered species protection to the moose in the Upper Midwest.

School leader: Big Ten football on hold until questions answered

The University of Wisconsin chancellor says Big Ten football will remain on hold until there are answers to questions about COVID-19 testing and tracing. Big Ten leaders are reconsidering a fall season after a weekend of meetings about a plan to begin play as soon as mid-October.

Report: 'Alarming' rates of police and prosecutor misconduct

The National Registry of Exonerations spent more than six years examining the cases of 2,400 innocent people who were exonerated from 1989 to 2019, finding that 54 percent were sent to prison because of intentional or negligent mistakes by police, prosecutors and other law enforcement officials.

Growing demand for wilderness education may widen learning inequality

Parents desperate to get their kids outdoors and offline are choosing wilderness schools for their kids, but poor, urban kids are missing out. Educators in Kingston, N.Y., are trying to change that.

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