Feb. 1, 2021

Tonight will be mostly cloudy, with patchy freezing fog west and south. Lows will be 5 to 15. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with highs in the mid 20s to lower 30s. And MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner says this weekend could be the coldest weather of the winter, with temperatures hitting 20 below in the Twin Cities and 40 below up north. Find the latest from Updraft.

The state is taking a third try in as many weeks at holding COVID-19 vaccination clinics. This time they plan to dispense 35,000 doses of vaccine over several days.

Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm explained the state is setting up a new system to look for vaccines.

"The new online vaccine locator map is intended to make it easier for folks to know where vaccine is going around Minnesota so they can see how this vaccine ecosystem that we keep talking about, what that looks like geographically," Malcolm said, "and that map will continue to expand and fill in as more vaccine becomes available."

That map will include three large scale vaccination sites, including one in Minneapolis, one in Duluth and a third to be located in southern Minnesota.

Health officials are planning to shut down nine different community vaccination sites, after they administer 2nd doses to those who already visited the sites. The state also changed the company administering its community vaccination program, after the initial provider erroneously sent out thousands of cancellation notices over the weekend.

In other COVID-19 news, there were some hopeful signs in the latest data from the Minnesota Department of Health, including the lowest daily death toll in months.

The health department reported 8,906 known active cases — the first time since early October the state had fewer that 9,000 active cases and far lower than in late November when the count hovered around 50,000.

The numbers also continue to look good on hospitalizations — 387 Minnesotans were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Sunday, with 92 needing intensive care.

Two newly reported deaths raised Minnesota’s toll to 6,202.

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

From fees to IDs, a deep dive into Walz budget

Lawmakers are diving deeper into the budget plan from Gov. Tim Walz this week. Items such as his proposed tax increases and additional school spending will dominate the debate between now and May.

Legal cannabis bill returns with prospects still hazy

Democrats in the Minnesota House are again proposing legislation to legalize marijuana for recreational use. House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, said Monday that he is introducing an adult-use cannabis bill that would also address criminal justice inequities in the current system.

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Judge’s emergency reprieve sides with Minneapolis teachers

Minneapolis public school teachers who have accommodations to work from home cannot be forced to return to in-person work this week after a Hennepin County judge issued a temporary restraining order against the state’s third-largest district.

Biden threatens sanctions on Myanmar after military coup

President Joe Biden on Monday threatened new sanctions on Myanmar after its military staged a coup and arrested the civilian leaders of its government, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

In Mayo ICU, the cleaning routine is the same; it’s the heartache that’s new

Every day, Mayo Clinic’s housekeeping staff works behind the scenes to keep the COVID-19 intensive care unit clean and safe for patients and staff. "As much as I work on a COVID floor ... sometimes it's hard not to bring that home — what you see on a daily basis — and not go home and cry.”

'Saved by the Bell' star Dustin Diamond dies of cancer at 44

“Saved by the Bell” star Dustin Diamond died Monday after a three-week fight with carcinoma, according to his representative. He was 44. Diamond, best known for playing Screech on the hit ’90s sitcom, was hospitalized last month in Florida and his team disclosed later that he had cancer.

U.S. cuts $231 million deal to provide 15-minute COVID-19 at-home tests

The Biden administration has made a $231.8 million deal with an Australian company to boost availability of the first at-home rapid test for the coronavirus which causes COVID-19 that is available without a prescription. The test, made by Ellume, can send results to a smartphone within 15 minutes of receiving a sample.

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