March 5, 2021
Already mild temperatures turn even higher this weekend , putting parts of Minnesota in a position to set record highs with the possibility of 60s in the southern part of the state by Sunday. Plus, needed rain returns and we may even see thunderstorms next week. The State Court of Appeals ruled today that a lower court erred by striking a third-degree murder charge against former police officer Derek Chauvin. Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill had dropped the additional charge. The lower court must now reconsider the prosecution's request to reinstate the third degree murder count. Chauvin also faces second-degree unintentional murder and manslaughter charges. Jury selection in his case is scheduled to start Monday. Minnesota's trends around COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations remain stable in the latest numbers. Known, active cases came in at just under 7,500 continuing a dramatically downward trend from early December, when active cases hovered around 50,000. Thirteen newly reported deaths raised state’s toll to 6,534 Minnesotans lost. P ublic health officials, however, keep warning Minnesotans should still remain vigilant about social distancing and mask-wearing as more contagious variants spread. In the meantime, state data show the vast majority of Minnesotans who have been vaccinated are white. More than two months into Minnesota's COVID-19 vaccination rollout, state officials released long-awaited data on the race and ethnicity of the people who so far have been vaccinated. About 38 percent of Black seniors have been vaccinated, while 45 percent of white seniors have gotten shots. The percentage of Native American seniors vaccinated hovers just under 40 percent, as does the percentage of seniors who are Asian or Pacific Islanders. Read more about the data and racial disparities in Minnesota's vaccination progress here. You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Nina Moini | MPR News | 