Welcome to Wednesday,

Glimmers of sunshine! Cloud-sun mix. High 59. Wind N 10 mph. Check out the latest forecast from Updraft.

House vote expected on legal marijuana bill next month

No one can claim that DFL sponsors have rushed through a measure to legalize marijuana without discussion. The legalization bill cleared its ninth House committee Tuesday, and its multicommittee path has been considerably longer than the ones other bills travel. DFL House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler plans to have the full House vote on the bill next month, a step which has never before taken place for this issue.

Pandemic-fueled surge in visitation to BWCA carries into 2021

Nearly 166,000 people visited the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness last summer — a 16 percent jump from the previous year — and the most in at least a decade, according to a new report from the U.S. Forest Service. The increased traffic is expected to continue this year.

Here are Minnesota’s latest  COVID-19 statistics:

• 7,091 deaths (12 new)

• 570,518 positive cases; 96 percent off isolation

• About 56 percent of Minnesotans 16 and older have received at least one vaccine dose; 41 percent are completely vaccinated

Biden to propose free preschool in today’s address

President Joe Biden will call for free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-old children, a $200 billion investment to be rolled out as part of his American Families Plan being unveiled Wednesday in a joint address to Congress. The Biden administration said the investment would benefit 5 million children and save the average family $13,000.

The address will be broadcast live on MPR News and mprnews.org at 8 p.m.

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— Katie Moritz, MPR News | Find me on Twitter @katecmoritz