Good morning and welcome to a hazy Monday. Today is July 12.

Although conditions improve somewhat Monday, smoke from wildfires in Canada keep much of the state hazy, while highs stay in the 80s, chance of rain for northern Minnesota.

The COVID-19 pandemic made absentee ballot drop boxes a popular option for voters. However, some lawmakers still want to see tighter security measures in place before 2022 elections.
Tom Baker for MPR News 2020

New law sets basic standards for absentee ballot drop boxes

The state’s divided legislature disagreed on many election proposals this year. A Republican push for voter ID, and a DFL push to restore felon voting rights were among the proposals that fell by the wayside. But the ballot drop box issue emerged late in negotiations and gained bipartisan support as part of a larger state government budget bill.

The dropboxes became popular with many voters and local election officials during the pandemic and now the state has provided clarity, standards and some funding for local governments to support this voting method.

Firefighters working through challenging conditions to contain wildfire east of Ely

The Delta Lake fire is burning south of Snowbank Lake about 19 miles east of Ely, and covers just over 60 acres.

Dozens of firefighters are working on the fire, with support from the air.

Bob Reif, a public information officer with the Minnesota Incident Command System, said Sunday that dropping water from the air is the only way to get it on the fire at this point.

"It's blowdown from 2016, a lot of downed timber that has not been cleared and some of that is chest-high," Reif said. "To climb over that and through that with any kind of water for fire suppression is next to impossible."

Reif said crews, including firefighters from Pennsylvania and Connecticut, have been working to create a pathway into the heart of the fire.

Wolf pups spotted on Isle Royale

Wolf pups have been spotted again on Isle Royale, a hopeful sign in the effort to rebuild the predator species' population at the U.S. national park, scientists said Monday.
It's unknown how many gray wolves roam the island chain in northwestern Lake Superior.

The coronavirus pandemic forced cancellation of the census that Michigan Technological University experts had conducted each winter for 63 years.

Remote cameras detected four pups on the park's eastern end in January, the researchers said in a new report. The sightings, and additional clues such as previously observed scats and tracks, suggest that two litters were born in the area last year and perhaps another on the western side.