Welcome to Tuesday. Here are the top news stories to get your day started, right after the weather. More dreary weather today, unfortunately. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, then showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 50s. Check out the latest forecast from Updraft. A first grader in southwestern Minnesota dies from COVID-19 complications. The child who died Sunday from complications related to COVID-19 was a first grader at Park Side Elementary School in Marshall, Minn. The news comes just a few days after state health officials raised concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in school-aged children. More than 56,000 kids ages 14 and younger in Minnesota have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Three children have now died from complications of the disease. Here are Minnesota’s latest COVID-19 statistics :
7,079 deaths569,440 positive cases; 96 percent off isolation About 56 percent of Minnesotans 16 and older have received at least one vaccine dose; 41 percent completely vaccinated
Minnesota artist uses ancient techniques to finish massive overseas project Minnesota artist Mark Balma is drawing on millennia-old techniques to create three huge frescoes for a church in Italy. The paintings are close to 20 feet tall, so he planned to do the work on site -- but the pandemic intervened. As he faced a modern challenge, he turned to an approach developed more than 2,000 years ago. Corrections officer put on leave after wife hurls racial slur at protesters A group of protesters near Washington County Attorney Peter Orput’s house in Stillwater, Minn., on Sunday were verbally assaulted by an off-duty correctional worker and his wife, who was captured on video using racist language. The Minnesota Department of Corrections confirmed that the man in the video is Sgt. Paul Gorder, an employee of the agency since 1995. Gorder was placed on leave Monday while the state investigates. 🎧 Here is what's on MPR News today. — Katie Moritz, MPR News | Find me on Twitter @katecmoritz | 