Sept. 9, 2020
Frost and freeze warnings overnight. Freeze warnings go from Hinckley to Brainerd, Hibbing and Ely to the north shore. Frost warnings stretch across most of the state from Worthington to International Falls, although they don’t include the Red River Valley or the Rochester area. Tomorrow will be warmer and sunny with highs in the mid-60s. Trump, Biden surrogates bring campaign messages to Minnesota. Rival Democratic and Republican presidential stand-ins are campaigning in Minnesota this week. Joe Biden’s wife, Jill, was at an elementary school in Prior Lake and met with education leaders in Minnesota. Donald Trump, Jr., is appearing in Duluth, and the president’s daughter in law, Lara, will be at the Twin Cities airport for a brief stop tomorrow. 282 new cases, 4,436 new tests: Labor Day reporting still clouds latest COVID-19 data. Holiday weekends make for a pared down demand for tests and staff to administer them, likely the source of the decline. Wednesday's newly reported test count plunged to their lowest point since June. And 282 new confirmed cases in the new data bumped up the positivity rate to about 6.4 percent, well above the 5 percent average in the last two weeks. 'Bad actors can create a ripple effect': Minnesota steps up bar, eatery checks. State officials had traced more than 1,200 COVID-19 cases to 66 bars and restaurants. Officials say inspections over the last two weekends found COVID-19 violations in nearly half of 167 bars and restaurants they visited along the Minnesota River valley. Officials say patrons and proprietors were both responsible and that they’ll be stepping up enforcement. You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. | 