All attention today is on the Derek Chauvin trial, which kicked off in earnest today. The trial is being broadcast live, in a rarity, so you can see it all unfold from your computer. [Watch live]
Second time's the charm! After cancelling his original State of the State address due to a COVID-19 quarantine, Gov. Tim Walz returned to his old classroom at Mankato West High School last night to declare that "normalcy is on the horizon," but that "for too many getting back to normal isn't good enough." [Read more from Brian Bakst]
Correction: In Friday's newsletter, I misstated the number of Congressional districts the hypothetical states of "New South Dakota" and "New Minnesota" would have, if Rep. Jeremy Munson's idea of western Minnesota seceding and joining South Dakota came to pass. The relative populations of these hypothetical states would give New Minnesota five congressional districts, and New South Dakota three (not four). [Confused? Read more]
The ship is free, but the memes will last forever. [Read more]
The city of Minneapolis' scrapped proposal to hire "influencers" to share information during the Chauvin trial had targeted a Spanish-language DJ, the Snapchat account "SomaliSnaps" and "a soccer coach who is 'connected to the young people [in the South Asian community] as well as a respectful young leader among the elders,'" according to information provided to Axios Twin Cities under a public records request. [Read more from Axios' Torey Van Oot]
President Joe Biden has promised his first appointment (if any) to the U.S. Supreme Court will be a Black woman. That has U.S. District Court Judge Wilhelmina Wright and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Natalie Hudson in the spotlight. [Read more from Marshall H. Tanick in MinnPost]
The Minnesota Department of Human Services didn't have adequate oversight over tens of millions of dollars in grants for mental health and substance abuse prevention, a new report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor finds. [Read more from the Star Tribune's Chris Serres]
Tables turned: For years, attention in Minnesota's "health and human services" community was focused squarely on the Department of Human Services, which oversees massive spending on a range of assistance programs. The much smaller Department of Health was a comparative afterthought. Then 2020 happened!
Something completely different: The Louvre museum has put its entire collection of more than 482,000 works in all online. Search for your favorites, or browse a collection of curated "playlists." [See more]
Listen: Reader John Hottinger says Anya's "Moscow Nights," with its chorus, "I don't know where to go | There's nothing there but snow," reminds him of Minnesota. (Fun fact: the singer, Anya Major, was first famous as the hammer-throwing star of Ridley Scott's "1984" Apple commercial.) Email me your own music suggestions to share in this space! [Watch]
