Aug. 31, 2020
Summer's swan song: Dry air, sunny skies. After today's cold front moves out, the weather remains very quiet the rest of the week, with mostly sunny skies. Lows tonight will be in the mid-40s to lower 50s and highs Tuesday in the 70s across Minnesota. More on the Updraft blog.
We are 'walking on the edge of a cliff': Active COVID-19 cases reach record high in Minnesota. State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said Minnesota is showing a faster growth in cases than in testing for the first time since the pandemic began. She also said that relatively low death tolls and hospitalizations are lagging indicators — and that they don’t reflect the extent of transmission now. Record case spikes in neighboring Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota. The Midwestern states have reported a surge in new cases in recent days. In South Dakota, for example, the state's seven-day average positivity rate significantly increased — now over 30 percent.
10 more charges in connection with last week's unrest in Minneapolis. The Hennepin County Attorney’s office announced 10 more felony charges that prosecutors say are connected with rioting last week in Minneapolis, sparked by false reports of a police shooting downtown. The charges include nine burglary counts and a drug case. Authorities say 26 people are now facing criminal charges in connection with the night of looting, vandalism and arson. You can get more of the latest news, in less than five minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast. | 