Highs Thursday will hover around 50 degrees again in the Twin Cities and much of southern Minnesota. High will be in the 30s and 40s north. A few rain and snow showers are possible Thursday into early Friday. Get the latest weather news on Updraft.
Coming up on Morning Edition: The Minneapolis City Council will vote Thursday on an ordinance guaranteeing rideshare drivers working within city limits a minimum wage of $15 per hour. Rideshare companies Uber and Lyft have threatened to stop operating in the city if the ordinance passes. It's a worry for disability advocates, as Minnesotans who have disabilities can use state benefits to pay for transportation via Lyft. Sheri Wegner, executive director of the nonprofit ConnectAbility, which helps disabled Minnesotans leverage those resources, joins MPR News host Cathy Wurzer. Coming up at 9 a.m.:MPR News Host Angela Davis is digging into the psychology of misinformation. What makes us susceptible to it and how can we respond to false information repeated by others? The conversation is part of the Talking Sense series online, in person and on the air at MPR News, aiming to help us better understand why political conversations are so polarized. Find more tools for having hard conversations on the Talking Sense app.
Cook County and the cities of Osseo and St. Joseph are weighing whether to open and operate cannabis dispensaries. If they do, they could define a new model for the country.
Municipal cannabis stores are of particular interest to local governments in Minnesota that don’t already operate their own liquor stores. In cities like Edina and Isanti, liquor stores serve as a revenue stream that helps reduce taxes for residents and businesses.
Because of conflicts with federal law, other states have shied away from adopting the state-owned liquor store model for cannabis retailers.
Some ambulances in southwest Minnesota can now connect virtually to specialist physicians during emergency calls. Ambulance crews say vital time saved by consulting with doctors as they treat injured patients can save lives.
“Our patients deserve this,” said Ann Jenson, Southwest Minnesota EMS executive director. “We don’t have all the specialties out here and we don’t have shorter distances to hospitals. But if their healthcare can start almost on patient contact, just think what a service to these patients that we’re giving them.”
Minneapolis launches $1M recruitment campaign for MPD. The Minneapolis Police Department currently has just 563 officers as of March 4, according to the city. That’s down from more than 800 in 2019 and lower than the 731 officers required by the city’s charter.
A bill prohibiting certain corporations from buying single-family homes advances at the Capitol. The bill aims to increase access to homeownership for families to build equity and wealth through housing by imposing restriction on large-scale investors and corporations that own 10 or more properties. Nonprofits, trusts and builders would be exempt from the requirement.
Amaya Battle's career-high 32 points sends Minnesota women past Rutgers 77-69 in Big Ten tourney. Minnesota won its first game in the Big Ten Conference Tournament since 2020 with a victory over Rutgers in Wednesday night's opening round.
