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 | 