March 4, 2021
Tonight, skies will be partly cloudy. Lows will be 12 to 18 northeast, to upper 20s southwest. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 40s to lower 50s. Tomorrow night will be 10 to 18 degrees northeast to near 30 southwest. And there's a chance for 60s in the Twin Cities on Sunday. Find the latest from Updraft. Officials in Minneapolis offered their final update on security ahead of the start of the Derek Chauvin trial on Monday. Mayor Jacob Frey and police chief Medaria Arradondo said that they encourage and support peaceful gatherings where people can express their views on the trial and police conduct.
Minneapolis officials say a robust law enforcement presence will be increasingly visible in the city as the trial progresses. Already access to public space around the Hennepin County Government Center is limited by fences and concrete barricades
The Vikings are opening up the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center — where they train and have their headquarters — to accommodate vaccine recipients who must be health care workers or age 65 and older. State health officials say they'll have 13,400 doses of the new vaccine ready to administer in Eagan starting tomorrow and running through Tuesday. The allotment is nearly a third of the first shipment of the J&J vaccine to Minnesota.
The shots are not available on a walk-up basis. The Vikings and health officials are directing people to the state's vaccine connector to make appointments.
The Eagan vaccination event joins five other community vaccination sites in Minneapolis, Duluth, Rochester, Bloomington and St. Paul. The NFL has also volunteered all of its stadiums as part of the vaccination effort around the country.
In other COVID-19 news, data from the Minnesota Department of Health is showing a sustained, but small uptick in some COVID-19 statistics.
The state is reporting 14 deaths in the latest data, following the 17 deaths reported Wednesday. It's the highest two day total in three weeks. And that previous total came during the long decline from the December surge in COVID-19 deaths. The seven day rolling average for deaths is back into double digits for the first time since mid-February. And the state has reached something of a milestone, as well, reporting more than half a million Minnesotans have completed a two-shot vaccination regiment. That means for the first time, vaccinations in the state have topped the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began — although many cases in the past year remain unconfirmed. You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Tim Nelson | MPR News | 
