🌱 City Approves New District Maps + Freezing Rain On The Way

Morning, Minneapolis! Here's your five-minute guide to what's making headlines today.

First, today's weather: Low clouds. High: 38 Low: 33.

Here are the top 5 stories in Minneapolis today:

1. County Commissioner Irene Fernando said three employees of Hennepin Healthcare should be fired after photos emerged of them wearing blackface on Halloween, the Star Tribune reports. The news comes just after a doctor from the organization instructed Minneapolis police about the controversial condition "excited delirium.” (Paid source: Star Tribune)

2. Redistricting of Minneapolis park districts is now complete, city officials said Thursday. The Charter Commission also approved new maps for Minneapolis’ 13 City Council wards. (Patch)

3. An Eden Prairie acupuncturist was charged Thursday with defrauding Medicaid out of more than $1.7 million. According to the Star Tribune, Xiaoyan Hu was charged with cheating the medical program while operating clinics in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Edina, Burnsville and Elk River. (Paid source: Star Tribune)

4. The Minnesota Department of Health reported 847 COVID-19 cases and 20 virus-related deaths Thursday. About 74 percent of Minnesotans have at least one vaccine dose, CBS reports. (CBS)

5. The City of Minneapolis named a new executive director of Race & Equity this week. Tyeastia Green previously served in a similar role in Burlington, Vermont. (Patch)

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Today in Minneapolis:

• "The Batman" opens at Riverview Theater. (11:30 a.m.)
• Claire Rosinkranz takes the stage at 7th St. Entry. (6 p.m.)
• Congolese musician Siama Matuzungidi puts on a traditional concert at Alliance Française. (6 p.m.)
• The city's "best new bands" perform at First Avenue. (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Freezing rain and sleet are expected across the Twin Cities this weekend. (CBS)
• Lenten fish fry events are beginning across Minnesota. (KARE11)
• Hennepin County Library opened voting for this year’s Minnesota Children’s Book Awards. (Patch)

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That's all for today! Have a great weekend.

— Georgi Presecky

About me: Georgi is a newsletter writer and partner content curator from Chicago. She spent five years on the entertainment beat for FF2 Media covering film festivals across the U.S. Her feature articles have been recognized with awards from the Illinois Women's Press Association and National Federation of Press Women. As editor-in-chief of the Lewis University newspaper, she and her staff earned honors from the Associated Collegiate Press and American Scholastic Press Associations. She began working for Patch in 2019.