| Dec. 29, 2020 Be careful on the roads, snow is expected to continue tonight and into Wednesday morning, with up to 6 inches possible in some areas around the state. Read more on the Updraft. The city of Minneapolis is beefing up its investigations into allegations of police misconduct. Mayor Jacob Frey announced Tuesday afternoon that civilian and internal affairs complaints against police officers will now be more thoroughly investigated. An MPR News investigation found that about half of fired Minnesota police officers get their jobs back through the state arbitration system. Frey says the city's change is intended to ensure that justified firings stick. Chief Medaria Arradondo welcomed the closer scrutiny. Meanwhile, Minneapolis City Council member Andrea Jenkins is reiterating her call to reopen the intersection where George Floyd was killed. Jenkins represents the 8th Ward in south Minneapolis where protesters have been occupying George Floyd Square, at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue.
On Sunday evening, two people were shot near the intersection. Both victims were taken to hospitals and are expected to survive their injuries. Jenkins says it's time for the area to return to normal. New daily COVID-19 case counts fell below 1,000 for the first time in more than two and a half months. But, that came on very low testing, which makes it difficult to draw any conclusions about the pandemic’s path. Still, the number of known, active cases in Minnesota fell below 1,300 for the first time since late October. That's part of an overall slowdown in caseloads since the peak in late November and early December.
You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast.
— Dan Kraker | MPR News | 