Buckle up anywhere west of the Twin Cities. We'll a snowfall gradient from 0 to 1 inch far northeast, to 5 or 6 inches in the far southwest Twin Cities by the end of the day. Afternoon highs will be in the teens for most of Minnesota. Find the latest on Updraft.
Steve Balogh, principal research scientist at the Metro Plant in St. Paul, prepares samples of wastewater in a lab in March 2021. Courtesy of Metropolitan Council
Research has shown since early in the pandemic that COVID-19 virus shows up in people’s feces. All that poop flows through the sewer system to wastewater plants. And at the main wastewater plant for the Twin Cities, scientists have been taking daily samples to see how much viral material is in the metro’s collective waste.
It turns out that wastewater analysis closely matches other ways to track the virus like case counts — except wastewater can actually flag spikes faster than traditional testing.
After collecting the wastewater data over a year, the Met Council will be releasing the data to the public every week, starting in the coming days, in response to a request from MPR News.
Sen. Klobuchar is optimistic Medicare will be given power to negotiate drug prices. The Minnesota Democrat says there’s no good reason why Medicare is barred by law from being able to use its clout to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. “This expense doesn't only burden individuals; it burdens taxpayers because taxpayers are going to be paying more and more as we have more people living longer."
"We are on the brink of collapse": The system of caring for vulnerable people is itself in danger. Long-term care facilities find maintaining day-to-day services a challenge because workers in other sectors are out with COVID-19. Nursing home operators talk more about closing, a CEO of a Minnesota care facility says.
Biden's push to mandate vaccine or testing at U.S. businesses stopped by Supreme Court.The court's conservative majority concluded the administration overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the OSHA's vaccine-or-test rule on U.S. businesses with at least 100 employees. At the same time, the court is allowing the administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most health care workers.
