'No barriers, no cost' for any Minnesotan to get a COVID shot

Mixes of rain and snow expected Saturday. Southern Minnesota will see Saturday highs in the lower 50s, with mainly 40s in northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. Winds will pick up Saturday afternoon, with gusts of 15-23 mph in many areas. Sunday looks dry. Find the latest on Updraft.

Finally, the news that hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans have been waiting for: Any resident 16 and older will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine shot starting Tuesday.

Gov. Tim Walz formally announced the expansion today. He emphasized that the news doesn't mean everyone will be able to get an appointment right away, but said there's enough confidence in vaccine supply and the state's system for distributing it, to justify the dramatic expansion of eligibility.

Friday’s Health Department data helps explain that rising urgency to widen the vaccine eligibility pool.

The state remains stuck in a pattern where the vaccination pace has leveled off while active cases and hospitalizations edge higher. Just over 1.5 million Minnesotans have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine — about 27 percent of the state's population. Today's data showed 12,604 active cases — marking eight consecutive days with active counts above 10,000 and the first since mid-January that active cases have pushed above 12,000.

Minnesota lawmakers are advancing a bill to improve the accuracy of hate crime reporting across the state.

Supporters of the measure say Minnesota doesn’t have an accurate picture of crimes motivated by bias because many incidents are never reported. The bill approved by a House committee would allow victims to work with community groups to report hate crimes. The bill also calls for better training for police officers to identify hate crimes.

“We still have a lot of work to do to address hate, and most particularly right now anti-Asian hate. We must take action against hate, and we can’t allow for it to continue," says DFL state Rep. Samantha Vang.

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Opening statements in the ex-cop's trial start Monday. Follow developments in the trial, community reaction and share your questions with MPR News.