For more than a year, Minnesota has been operating under some level of restrictions, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. But soon, most of those restrictions will be lifted. Here’s what you need to know. - #AskMPRNews What do you want to know about the new timeline for restrictions?
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, 57 percent of staff in skilled nursing homes statewide have their shots, and a somewhat smaller percentage — 48 percent — of workers in assisted living facilities are vaccinated. - Biden administration looks for help With next phase of pitching COVID vaccines - Get vaccinated How to get a COVID vaccine in Minnesota
Within the next week or so, Minnesota lawmakers will decide whether law enforcement officers in the state must change how they do their jobs. While many ideas are on the table, some people involved in similar debates over the years have low expectations.
On May 5 as part of KERA’s On Our Minds initiative, Syeda Hasan hosts Call to Mind Live: How Child Poverty Shapes Mental Health, a Well Beings Virtual Tour Event. Community members and experts explore how the mental health of children and teens is affected by poverty. When basic needs aren’t met, what happens to well-being? How are low-income kids in Texas faring during the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst economic disaster in recent memory? And how does economic insecurity during childhood inform decision making into adulthood? We'll explore all this and more during a free in-depth, live virtual discussion. Register now and join Call to Mind for this FREE online event in collaboration with KERA Wednesday, May 5 at 12 noon CT.
Six-year-old Jase Nelson and his mom, Michelle, sat down together this week to look at a class picture from kindergarten last year. Jase wanted to remember one classmate in particular. “I played with her last year,” the now-first grader at Marshall’s Park Side Elementary School said. “At recess, she will want to play tag or she would want to play with me. She was a little shy. She would like to take pictures.” It was a bittersweet memory that left Jase crying, and Michelle trying to help comfort her child through her own grief. “She had lots of friends,” Jase said. “She would be nice.” Last Sunday, Jase’s kindergarten classmate — a little girl, 6 years old like him — died from complications of COVID-19. More from MPR News
Community organizers and longtime residents see the beginnings of a gentrification wave they worry may leave many low-income residents with nowhere to go. Some see rent stabilization as the answer, but not everyone’s on board. - 'We can’t leave folks behind' MN rental assistance program to soon begin payouts - At the Capitol Legislature divided over end to COVID-19 eviction rule - ¡Adelante Minnesota! MPR News' reporting on Latino community issues
House and Senate negotiators have begun their search for compromises while top leaders aim to make the overarching deal they’ll need to draw the Legislature’s session to a close. - Deadline looms $1 billion to bridge for Minn. lawmakers - Law enforcement Walz, Democrats insist on police changes
Only one vaccine has been authorized for kids as young as 16, a group that’s behind much of Minnesota’s COVID-19 spread. But instead of waiting for a vaccine, one Twin Cities family jumped on an early opportunity to participate in vaccine research. - Morning Edition What’s it like to be part of an adolescent COVID-19 vaccine trial? - Fauci Vaccines for kids as young as first graders could be authorized by September - MPR News with Kerri Miller Kids, COVID-19 and vaccines
More than 165,000 people visited the Boundary Waters last year — a 16 percent jump over the previous year — as people sought refuge in the isolated wilderness from the COVID-19 pandemic. Outfitters say early reservations suggest this summer could be even busier. - Outside in Minnesota Exploring the state in a socially distanced way - Last summer COVID-19 brings surge of visitors — and some messes — to BWCA
A northeast Minneapolis artist is posting signs where Black men killed by police lived, worked and went to school. He wants people to see neighbors, not just headlines when they read their names.