Plus, COVID hits school-age children, kills two school staff members.
Good morning,
Here comes a (brief) cold front. After a lovely fall Thursday, today brings cooler breezes and scattered showers across eastern Minnesota. Highs in the 60s. It'll be a bit warmer this weekend, and next week we might even see temperatures in the 80s again.
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Lake County Recreational Forester Dave Cizmas rides down a section of trail dubbed “Joe’s Diner,” part of the Split Rock Wilds mountain bike trail system between the town of Beaver Bay and Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. | Dan Kraker, MPR News
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By Dan Kraker
The Split Rock Wilds mountain bike trail officially opens this weekend, traversing about 20 miles of rugged terrain along the North Shore of Lake Superior. It’s just the latest among a burgeoning network of 250 miles of trails in northeastern Minnesota that’s transforming the region into a mountain biking destination.
The trail projects have been pushed forward by local cycling groups in Duluth, the Iron Range, and on the North Shore, and feature modern trails built specifically for mountain biking, that follow the contours of the landscape, often creating a flowy, roller coaster-like experience.
But what’s made them possible on such a large scale, in such a short amount of time, is millions of dollars in public funding, largely from state grants funded by sales tax and lottery proceeds.
"What's happening in Minnesota is pretty unprecedented," said Scott Linnenburger, co-owner of Boulder, Colorado-based Kay-Linn Enterprises, a consulting firm that helps plan and design mountain bike trail projects around the country, including Minnesota.
Late this summer Linnenburger is overseeing the construction of new downhill trails at Giant’s Ridge in Biwabik that have turned the ski area into the largest chairlift-served mountain bike park in the Midwest.
"While mountain bike trails are booming in the rest of the country,” he said, “it's not even in close to the same league as what's happened in Minnesota over the last five years."
[Read more]
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| Two school staff COVID deaths reported |
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By MPR News Staff
Minnesota’s summer COVID-19 surge continues to push its way into fall, with case counts rising notably among school-age children.
Officials have been anxious for weeks that the new school year would bring an increase in the number of cases among kids. More than two weeks in, that appears to be happening.
The Health Department on Thursday said two Minnesota school staff members have died from COVID-19 in the first weeks of the current school year. No other information was disclosed. The state has recorded 10 deaths in the pandemic associated with school settings.
Currently, more than 770 school buildings are reporting at least one case of COVID-19 among students or staff.
While the overall COVID data remains frustrating, the rate of tests coming back positive remains relatively stable — the seven-day average is running at around 6 percent, higher than the 5 percent officials find concerning but not leaping as it has in other waves.
Still, the case numbers — driven since late summer by the highly contagious delta variant — continue to rise. The state’s Native American population has been especially hard hit recently.
[Read more]
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Line 3 is done. The legal work isn't: Hundreds of Line 3 oil pipeline legal cases are straining resources in the northern Minnesota counties where most of the protests took place. Some protesters say they have had to wait months for a public defender. Some also argue that their charges are unfairly severe.
Well chemical: A chemical contaminant considered a potential health risk has been detected in private wells in Andover and Gem Lake. The city of Andover’s municipal water system is safe and not affected, officials said. Gem Lake does not have a municipal water supply.
Brooklyn Center Michaels: According to an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, a white Michaels store manager called the police on a Black 16-year-old who wanted to apply for a job at the crafts business in 2019. When three white Brooklyn Center police officers arrived, the state’s investigation determined that the officers used unjustified and unreasonable force, and that their body camera footage contradicted reports and testimony they gave. The state is seeking a settlement agreement and monetary relief for the then 16-year-old.
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