 | - Christine T. Nguyen | MPR News
Nov. 18, 2020
Expect new restrictions from Walz to curb COVID-19 spread | |
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Good morning. It won't be quite as cool, but it will be windy. We can expect highs in the 40s in northern parts of the state, 50s in the Twin Cities, and possible low 60s in southern Minnesota. We'll have partly sunny skies throughout the state. Find out more from Updraft.
A drumbeat of rising COVID-19 caseloads, hospitalizations and deaths continues unabated in Minnesota, so much so that Gov. Tim Walz will roll out new restrictions Wednesday on youth sports, gyms, bars and restaurants.
Walz on Tuesday signaled that high school sports, a staple of Minnesota life in the fall and winter, would likely be put on hold.
He’s also expected to discuss additional restrictions on Minnesota social life around bars and restaurants (beyond the current 10 p.m. curfew for in-person service), fitness centers, gyms and social gatherings.
The governor is expected to address Minnesotans at 6 p.m.
“None of this is easy,” he told reporters Tuesday as he implored Minnesotans to do all they could to stem the disease’s uncontrolled spread.
Here are Minnesota’s current COVID-19 statistics:
- 2,943 deaths (26 new)
- 236,949 positive cases (5,945 new), 186,680 off isolation
- 3.5 million tests, 2.2 million people tested (about 39 percent of the population)
- 15.2 percent seven-day positive test rate (officials find 5 percent concerning)
Throughout November, MPR News is featuring Indigenous Minnesotans making history to celebrate Native American Heritage Month.
Marlena Myles, 35, is a self-taught professional artist. She is Mohegan, Muscogee Creek and an enrolled member of the Spirit Lake Dakota tribe. Myles approaches life with a desire to learn.
“I think Native people have a tradition of innovation,” she said. “So anytime we get like a new tool or something from Europeans or other tribes, [we] incorporate it and create new things out of it.”
The pandemic has been one long stretch of loss and grief. But there are also couples who have suffered the lost of a baby. Ann Vote experienced three miscarriages over the course of four years. Each time, she was devastated.
But this summer, she heard about a project taking root in her hometown of New Ulm: A group of women who had experienced similar loss had come together to build a dedicated space in the New Ulm Cemetery for people navigating infertility, miscarriages, infant loss and stillbirths can go to grieve and reflect.
Michael Anderson's costume shop wasn't so much a store as it was an escape into a world of imagination and make-believe. For more than three decades, Invincible Costume and Theatrical Co. in downtown St. Cloud was the place to go for anyone involved in theater, or who needed the perfect ensemble for Halloween or a special event.
Anderson died on Nov. 8 in South Dakota at age 64 due to complications of COVID-19. His death came as a shock to those in central Minnesota who remembered his creative spirit, kind heart and passion for the performing arts.
Through conversations with their family members, colleagues and close friends, MPR News is remembering the lives of the people we’ve lost, too soon, to COVID-19. If you’d like to share the story of someone you’ve lost to COVID-19, please email us at tell@mpr.org.
🎧 Tune in and stay informed.Here's what's coming up on MPR News today.
-- Matt Mikus, MPR News (@mikusmatt) |
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