Feb. 24, 2021

Tonight, look for mostly cloudy skies with a chance of snow showers. Lows will be 13 to 21. Tomorrow will have decreasing clouds, with highs in the lower 30s to the lower 40s. Find the latest from Updraft.

Minneapolis officials are increasing security downtown as jury selection nears in the trial of a former police officer charged in the killing of George Floyd.

That includes concrete barriers on either side of a long coil of concertina wire running along the edge of the plaza outside the Hennepin County Government Center, where the trial will be held. Deputy police chief Eric Fors outlined the changes at a briefing this morning.

Fors said people in Minneapolis can also expect to start seeing high profile police and National Guard patrols in commercial corridors around the city.

Jury selection in the trial of Derek Chauvin is scheduled to start on March 8.

Mayor Jacob Frey said the city is committed to avoiding a repeat of last year’s violence in the wake of Floyd’s death.

Deaths due to COVID-19 rose today after a notable decline early in the week. But vaccines are showing a surge in shipments after weather-related delays.

Vaccine doses shipped to the state have nearly quadrupled in recent days and hit new highs as the distribution recovers from delays that followed a winter storm last week. Supply has been one of the biggest constraints on the state's vaccination campaign, which ebbed early this week.

Hospitalization rate are encouraging. There were 292 people with COVID-19 in Minnesota hospitals as of Tuesday. The number needing intensive care ticked up to 59, but hospitalizations overall remain relatively stable.

You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Tim Nelson | MPR News

Minnesota Supreme Court hands victory to PolyMet copper mine

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed an appeals court's rejection of a critical air emissions permit for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine and sent the case back for further proceedings.

FDA says J&J 1-dose shot prevents COVID; final decision soon

Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine offers strong protection against severe COVID-19, according to an analysis by U.S. regulators Wednesday that sets the stage for a final decision on a new and easier-to-use shot to help tame the pandemic.

Architect of the Capitol outlines $30 million in damages from pro-Trump riot

The cost of repairing damages from the attack on the U.S. Capitol and related security expenses have already topped $30 million and will keep rising, Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton told lawmakers on Wednesday.

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Businesses that tapped pandemic loan program now find it may cost them

Barring legislative intervention, tens of thousands of Minnesota businesses that received federal loans to retain employees during the pandemic will face a new financial predicament when they file their state taxes.

Federal grand jury hearing evidence in death of George Floyd

Several witnesses have been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury considering charges against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is already facing state murder charges in the death of George Floyd, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Enbridge Line 3 divides Indigenous lands, people

Conflict is growing among Indigenous communities along the nearly 400-mile path of Enbridge's Line 3 project. As it cuts across the Fond du Lac reservation, treaty lands of several other bands of Ojibwe and the headwaters of the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota, it has brought not just jobs but controversy and discord into the most intimate spheres of spirituality, family and community.

Hunters and trappers blow past Wisconsin's wolf kill target

Hunters and trappers blew past Wisconsin's wolf kill target in less than 72 hours, forcing a premature end to a hunt that initially wasn't supposed to happen for another nine months and raising the ire of animal rights activists.

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