July 28, 2020

Summer’s best now. Our lovely summer weather stays with us tomorrow, bringing mostly sunny and clear skies and highs in the 70s and 80s across the state. These gorgeous summer days will likely continue into the next week, besides Saturday when rain and storms are possible in parts of Minnesota.

Did you get some mysterious seeds from China in your mail? Don’t plant them, officials say. Minnesota agricultural officials warn that those small packages, which appear to have been sent from China, may introduce invasive species to the state, and the seeds could pose a risk to farm crops or local biomes. If you have received such a package in your mail, you are encouraged to keep it and contact the department via the Arrest the Pest line.

Is contact tracing really effective in Minnesota? As the state continues to see a surge in cases, Minnesota’s Health Department has ramped up its contact tracing capacity to minimize the community transmission of the virus in the state. But since the new case counts in recent days remain high -- ranging from 500 to over 900 cases -- some experts say the numbers are too high for contact tracing to be effective, MinnPost’s Greta Kaul reports. Experts also point to another challenge to successful contact tracing -- the time it takes to get test results back.

COVID-19 in Minnesota: Following the recent new case trend, hospitalizations, ICU cases on the rise again. Officials today reported 480 new cases and four more deaths from COVID-19. The number of Minnesotans currently hospitalized of the disease rose by 37 from Monday, bringing the total to 294 -- close to the mid-June level. The number of hospitalized people needing intensive care (138) also jumped.

— Jiwon Choi, MPR News | @ChoiGEE1

Warrant: White supremacist instigated looting at George Floyd protest

The “Umbrella Man,” as police describe him, is allegedly a member of the Hell’s Angels and associate of the prison gang Aryan Cowboys, a white supremacist organization.

Outsiders, extremists: Among those fomenting violence in Twin Cities

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MPD training records short on 'positional asphyxiation'

Newly released Minneapolis police training records are giving critics more reason to question whether officers were adequately trained on the dangers of improper restraints. A review of the documents, which span the past seven years, shows training focused heavily on excited delirium, a controversial cause of death of people in police custody.

Analysis: MPD has used neck restraints more than 200 times since 2015
Nationwide: How decades of bans on police chokeholds have fallen short
Police, experts condemn: Knee restraint used on George Floyd

Facebook post with Nazi imagery leads to MN GOP resignation

An unnamed board member of the Wabasha County Republican Party has resigned after a post on Facebook compared Minnesota’s coronavirus mask mandate to Nazi persecution of Jews.

Primary primer: What you need to know about Minnesota's August election

In August, Minnesota voters will choose the DFL and Republican nominees for U.S. Senate, most of the state’s U.S. House seats and dozens of state legislative seats. See who is on your primary ballot.

More boaters mean more threats to loons on Minn. lakes

As the COVID-19 pandemic drives more people to enjoy outdoor recreation this summer, there are more people on Minnesota lakes — and a greater chance for conflict between boaters and wildlife. That can mean problems for Minnesota's iconic state bird.

COVID-19 ripple effect: Crowded lakes cause conflict
Coronavirus brings surge of visitors: And some messes to BWCA

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