Sept. 22, 2020 Picture-perfect weather to enjoy fall colors. Tonight will be mostly clear with lows in the 50s. Wednesday will be mostly sunny with another shot of summer — in the 70s in the north, with highs in the lower 80s in the south. Fall colors are reaching their peak across parts of northern Minnesota this week. More on the Updraft weather blog. Supreme Court justice battle brings abortion debate back in Minnesota.A new justice to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death would likely alter the ideological makeup of the court and potentially set a new course on abortion and reproductive health. It puts added focus on who writes Minnesota’s laws in those areas. Minneapolis city leaders pledge $2 million to help businesses destroyed during unrest.City staff identified 16 properties apparently in need of the aid, most of them along Lake Street. Business owners are expected to learn this week if the city will help cover demolition payment gaps in excess of $100,000 each.
35 more Minnesotans currently hospitalized with COVID-19; new case count trends down as testing declines.The number of people currently hospitalized (290) jumped by 35 in Tuesday’s Health Department report, one of the biggest single-day increases since the pandemic began. The subset of patients needing intensive care (136) also rose. The latest COVID-19 numbers showed only 513 new cases Tuesday, roughly half the pace of the past few days. However, testing was also down by about half. You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. — Tim Nelson | MPR News
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 200,000 on Tuesday — reaching what was once the upper limit of some estimates for the pandemic's impact on Americans. Some experts now warn that the toll could nearly double again by the end of 2020. America's 200,000 COVID-19 deaths: Small cities and towns bear a growing share
While that rancor facing our democracy did not begin with Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death — or even with the Trump presidency — having these events coincide has deepened the shadows on the road ahead.
Minnesota Department of Revenue Commissioner Cynthia Bauerly is leaving the job after nearly six years, she announced Tuesday. Bauerly, who was first appointed in 2015, is the state’s longest-serving revenue commissioner.
