Chauvin seeks a new trial, alleging judicial errors, jury misconduct

Welcome to Wednesday, Minnesota. Here's top news for your morning, after the weather:

A brief break from sunshine: A gray, soggy day today. Showers are likely in the afternoon for southern Minnesota. Highs today will be in the 50s. Get the latest forecast from Updraft.

Derek Chauvin's attorney has filed a motion asking for a new trial for the ex-cop.

The defense alleges multiple judicial errors, as well as prosecutorial misconduct. Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, says his client was deprived of a fair trial because Judge Peter Cahill denied motions to move it out of town and sequester the jury throughout. The defense also claims that the jury "committed misconduct" and "felt race-based pressure," though Nelson's filing does not offer details.

That comes after one of the jurors in the trial is facing criticism after social media photos surfaced of him at a gathering last summer in Washington, D.C., marking the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s march.

A significant number of nursing home staff in Minnesota are hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine. An effort going on now attempts to change that.

According to the Health Department data, 57 percent of staff in skilled nursing homes statewide have their shots, and only 48 percent of assisted living workers are vaccinated in Minnesota. That lower staff vaccination rate worries many in the industry, especially since the pandemic was disproportionately deadly to residents of long-term care.

Many facilities are trying to ramp up vaccinations by continuing vaccine promotions and giving employees incentives. But industry experts say an "one-on-one approach," such as group Q&A sessions and conversations among staff members, seems to be the most effective, with some homes seeing staff vaccinations as high as 90 percent.

Gov. Tim Walz is set to unveil looser capacity restrictions on bars and eateries tomorrow.

Minnesota’s COVID-19 metrics look solid enough that Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday is expected to announce he’s loosening some pandemic curbs, likely raising capacity limits for bars, restaurants and other indoor public gathering spaces. The most recent numbers continue to show the state on the downslope of a recent wave, so do the vaccination trends. The flattening vaccination pace is slowing the state’s efforts to reach herd immunity.

Join us at 11 a.m.: How has your post-vaccination life been going?

Host Angela Davis will look at the transitional period we’re living through as the U.S. works to hit herd immunity through COVID-19 vaccinations. She’ll also explore how getting life back to “normal” might be more complicated than it first seems.

Have you completed your COVID-19 vaccination? How are you living life now? What’s changed? What hasn’t? Call us at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828 during the live show or tweet @AngelaDavisMPR to join the conversation.

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— Jiwon Choi, MPR News | Find me on Twitter @ChoiGEE1