Rising COVID cases, major adjustments and staff shortages don't make for a great work environment.
Good morning,
Back to summer? Another surge of unseasonable late-season warmth blows into Minnesota today and tomorrow.
Gusty southerly winds will push high temperatures into the 80s across most of the state today, with 70s in the northeast. That's a good 20 degrees above normal for some areas. The average high and low for the Twin Cities Tuesday are 66 and 47 degrees.
Here's what we're following:
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Most Minnesota schools are into their third full week of classes, but already some staff members are worried about how much longer they’ll be able to continue running short-staffed. | Jackson Forderer for MPR News file
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By Elizabeth Shockman
It’s a victory to have students and educators back in the classroom, but Alexei Moon Casselle, a language arts teacher at Battle Creek Elementary in St. Paul, wants people to remember that the pandemic isn’t over yet.
Most Minnesota schools are into their third full week of classes, but already some staff members are worried about how much longer they’ll be able to continue running short-staffed.
Teachers are feeling the burden of a return to in-person school with anxious kids and climbing COVID-19 cases. Casselle said return to in-person learning has been a huge transition for both students and staff at the school.
“There’s a lot of things affecting their community right now — communities that have been absolutely devastated from COVID-19,” Casselle said.
In Willmar, Annette Derouin directs food and nutrition programs for four different western Minnesota districts. In one, she started the year with 11 staff vacancies. Not only that, supply chains are so unreliable she’s never quite sure what food she’ll get for lunch, and has had to make many last-minute menu changes. It’s something she’s never had to do before.
School nurses are struggling, too. According to the School Nurse Organization of Minnesota, only slightly more than a quarter of Minnesota schools have a licensed nurse position. Those with positions are having a hard time filling them. In the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district where organization president Deb Mehr works, five nurses quit last year. This year they’ve already lost one.
[Read more]
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By Brian Bakst
The nine-person Frontline Worker Pay Working Group was formed to recommend who should receive a share of the pandemic bonus pay from a $250 million state fund. Although they missed an early September deadline for finalizing a plan, the lead working group members say they’re zeroing in on agreement.
DFL House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, who chairs the panel, said a rough outline would provide compensation for up to 670,000 critical workers who powered through amid uncertainty or worse. But the size of their bonuses still hasn’t been finalized.
“We could also look at providing two different groupings where some workers get a set dollar amount and others get a bit more if they were engaged in caring for patients and at particularly high risk,” Winkler said, adding that it’s not his favored option.
The total pool of recipients will also depend on how many in the qualifying sectors served in an in-person capacity. Those who did their jobs from home or collected benefits through other programs probably wouldn’t be eligible, according to working group members.
The panel is set to meet as soon as next week to consider recommendations that would then go to the Legislature. But a special session won’t be called until Gov. Tim Walz and key legislators agree on an agenda.
[Read more]
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