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VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA

Minnesota schools to assist in effort to inoculate children

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota health and education officials have joined in an effort with 16 schools to assist in administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children over the next few days before many more doses are expected to arrive in Minnesota next week. State officials are expecting Minnesota to receive more than 250,000 children doses next week that will go to more than 1,000 providers across the state. The first portion of the limited supply of child doses were administered Wednesday at a community vaccination clinic at the Mall of America in Bloomington. More than 3.3 million Minnesotans have been fully inoculated as of Tuesday.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA-INCARCERATED

Hodgepodge of vaccine rules for county jails in Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Employees at Minnesota state prisons are required to show proof that they’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing. But, only two Minnesota counties, Hennepin and Ramsey, have a similar requirement for their jails. Unlike state prisons, which are operated by the Minnesota Department of Corrections, jails are under the authority of county sheriffs, who set their own policies. State health officials say that as of Oct. 22, there have been 1,358 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among people incarcerated or detained in Minnesota jails, and 661 cases among jail staff since the start of the pandemic

AP-US-CLIMATE-SOLAR-RESTORING-THE-LANDSCAPE

Bees, sheep, crops: Solar developers tout multiple benefits

MONTICELLO, Minnesota (AP) — Solar is a renewable energy source that can help wean the world off fossil fuels that produce climate-warming gases. But it also could benefit the environment and economy in ways not as well known. As panels spread across the landscape, the grounds around them can be used for native grasses and flowers that attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Some solar farms are being used to graze sheep. And scientists are growing tomatoes, peppers and other crops beneath the panels. Advocates say such beneficial uses can lower resistance from critics who say solar panels waste farmland and look unattractive.

DAUNTE WRIGHT-OFFICER

Judge: Behavior errors on table at ex-cop’s homicide trial

A judge says attorneys for a former suburban Minneapolis police officer on trial for fatally shooting a Black motorist can call a witness at trial to testify about behavior errors. Defendant Kim Potter said she meant to use a Taser instead of a handgun when she shot and killed Daunte Wright after he was stopped in April for a traffic violation. Defense attorneys have said they plan to call forensic and police psychologist Laurence Miller to discuss “slip and capture errors,” which they believe caused Potter to mistakenly fire her handgun at Wright instead of her Taser. Prosecutors had filed a motion to exclude or limit Miller’s testimony, arguing that it was “not relevant and would not be helpful to the jury.”

ELECTION 2021-MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR

Frey wins 2nd term as Minneapolis mayor after bitter race

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis voters have reelected Mayor Jacob Frey after a bitter race that focused on calls for changes to policing and racial justice. More than a dozen candidates ran to be mayor, including many who took issue with the way the Democratic incumbent has handled changes to the police department since one of its officers killed George Floyd last year. Frey positioned himself as an opponent of an effort to eliminate the police department and of the most vocal liberals who were seeking a symbolic victory in Floyd’s city. The results were announced Wednesday after Frey didn’t get enough votes in the first found Tuesday night to win outright under the city’s ranked-choice voting system.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MINNESOTA-CHILDREN

COVID-19 vaccinations for younger children begins this week

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz says health care providers and others will begin vaccinating 5- to 11-year-old children this week, now that the Pfizer coronavirus shot has received federal approval for that age group. Walz says the vaccine will arrive in waves this week and that Minnesota providers have ordered as many doses as possible from the federal government. More than 500,000 children across Minnesota are now eligible for the vaccine. The state has launched a new webpage to help parents and guardians of 5- to 11-year-old children find a vaccine and answer questions they may have. The website is mn.gov/vaxforkids.

HOTEL DEATH

Death of woman, injuries to man investigated in Eden Prairie

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) — Police in a Twin Cities suburb are investigating the death of a woman found in a hotel room along with a badly injured man. Officers were asked to do a welfare check at the Residence Inn in Eden Prairie Tuesday and discovered the two. City spokeswoman Joyce Lorenz says no arrests have been made, but police believe it was not a random attack. Lorenz says the man suffered significant injuries and was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. His condition was not released. The cause and manner of the woman’s death will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office. Identities of the man and woman have not been disclosed.

AP-US-ELECTION-2021-MINNEAPOLIS-POLICING

Activists keep police reform push despite Minneapolis loss

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Police accountability activists are vowing to keep fighting for change despite the failure of a ballot proposal to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a reimagined public safety unit. The vote came 18 months after George Floyd died under the knee of a police officer. JaNaé Bates of the Yes 4 Mpls campaign says the ballot measure has been the catalyst for a national conversation on policing. But 56% of the city’s voters rejected it. That came as a disappointment to activists across the country, who had looked to Minneapolis as a model for what might be possible. They are now discussing what comes next.