April 21, 2020

Picture-perfect spring day. Tomorrow will be the warmest day of the week - with highs nearing the 70s in the Twin Cities area. There’s a chance of rain and snow showers in the morning in northern Minnesota, but other than that, it will be a beautiful spring day in most parts of the state.

COVID-19 in Minnesota today: 17 more deaths reported, 2,567 cases confirmed. During Tuesday’s daily briefing, health officials noted a one-day dip in the number of intensive care patients from 126 to 117 while current hospitalizations tied to the disease remained stable. When it comes to reopening the economy, Gov. Tim Walz has repeatedly said that restaurants, bars and big sporting events will be among the last pieces to restart.

ICYMI: This Minnesota activist, and his brother, at the center of anti-stay-home rallies across U.S. Last week, as cars and people filled the street in front of the governor’s residence, demanding an end to Minnesota’s stay-home order, the group’s leader, Ben Dorr, took credit for helping draw supporters to the rally. Across the country, Ben Dorr and his two older brothers are using social media platforms to call for anti-quarantine protests in Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa and New York.

1.6M N95 masks, 52K bottles of hand sanitizer, 800 ventilators: Where is MN’s $200M COVID-19 fund used? Minnesota procurement officials are working to scoop up personal protective equipment and other supplies to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Purchases are occurring at a rapid clip since the Legislature freed up $200 million for Walz’s administration to spend — and that’s by design.

For your next video call, why not invite a llama? After weeks of working from home, talking to people via your computer screen, here’s a way you can freshen up your routine virtual meeting - by inviting farm animals! Sweet Farm, an animal sanctuary in California, is offering people around the world the opportunity to invite farm animals to liven up their video calls. Find more details here on how you can invite a goat, a llama or a horse to your next meeting.

Speaking of animals, what Minnesota plants and animals have you spotted outside your home this spring? Spring has arrived in Minnesota. How do you appreciate the outdoors while social distancing? Share with us what you see and hear from nature in your backyard and beyond!

— Jiwon Choi, MPR News

Meat supplies unlikely to get very lean

Consumers may see some spot shortages of their favorite cuts after some big meat processors shut down because of COVID-19 outbreaks. But experts say if people don’t panic and hoard, overall supplies shouldn’t run out.

‘It was expected’ Worthington pork plant closes indefinitely
For meat plant workers: Virus makes a hard job perilous
In S.D.: Smithfield Foods announces indefinite closure of Sioux Falls plant amid COVID-19 outbreak

160 COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota, most tied to long-term care

State health leaders faced fresh questions Tuesday about the pace of COVID-19 testing and the numbers of deaths in long-term care facilities. With Minnesota cases continuing to climb, they made it clear that many curbs on daily life were still needed.

Reopening Minnesota: Pathway should get clearer this week

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U of M freezes tuition for most students next year

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, University of Minnesota regents voted unanimously to not raise tuition for the 2020-21 academic year.

DFL lawmakers continue push for mail-in voting

Minnesota Senate Democrats called on Republican leaders Tuesday to take up legislation to expand vote-by-mail options this year as a way to protect public health.

More: Minnesota Republicans move May state convention online
Wis. officials: 7 virus cases appear related to in-person voting

Watch: White House coronavirus task force briefs as political wars simmer

Elsewhere in Washington members of Congress reached an agreement on about $484 billion more in relief funding to help small businesses and others hurt by the mitigation measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.

What happens if U.S. reopens too fast? Documents show federal coronavirus projections

As some states move to lift social distancing restrictions, government documents reveal how much more lethal the pandemic could still be without careful mitigation efforts.

Minneapolis neighborhood will hear Muslim call to prayer during Ramadan

Thanks to a new partnership between the city of Minneapolis and community members, Muslims in Minneapolis will be able to hear the sound of adhan, the call to prayer, as they hunker down in their homes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus entered my father’s nursing home and nobody warned me. I did not get the chance to save him.

Reporter Jan Ransom’s father was the fourth resident of his nursing home to get COVID-19. Nobody told her about the first, so she couldn’t move him before he got sick. “I think that’s very unfair,” her father told her a week before he died.

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