Pleasantly uneventful Friday. We’re keeping with our recent weather theme -- sunny and dry with nice, warm temperatures. Highs tomorrow will be in the 80s across Minnesota. Later Friday night, likely after midnight, northwestern parts of the state may see thunderstorms. 

Most Minnesota students could go back to classrooms this fall, if the current trend continues. According to Minnesota’s “Safe Learning Plan” Gov. Tim Walz unveiled today, it’s up to school districts to decide the extent of their in-person learning plans, informed by case rates over two weeks in their counties -- though families may still opt out of the district plans and continue distance learning. That means the guidelines are subject to change if the county’s two-week case rates go up or down.

If school started today, students in counties with about 20 percent of the state’s population would be recommended to have all students in classrooms; another 38 percent would have elementary students in school while older grades had a mix of in-school and distance learning.

What are your thoughts on the state’s guidance? Have you heard any tentative plans from your district? Share your thoughts and experiences with us here.

COVID-19 in Minnesota: Steep increases go on -- 745 new cases, hospitalizations near 300. Thursday’s numbers offer a familiar refrain. Cases continue to trend upward, partially explained by a slowly rising testing volume; hospitalizations are slowly trending up; deaths are flat. The Health Department reported 745 new confirmed cases Thursday, with 298 people currently hospitalized for the disease and 141 of those needing intensive care. Another milestone today: Minnesota has performed more than 1 million tests on 820,817 people since the pandemic began.

— MPR News digital team