🌱 Mayo Clinic Tracks 'Very High' COVID Rates + Teachers Strike

Good morning, Minneapolis! Thanks for starting your day with Patch.

First, today's weather: Cloudy and not as cold. High: 31 Low: 24.

Here are the top five stories today in Minneapolis:

1. Though the peak of the omicron surge has passed, Mayo Clinic trackers say COVID-19 transmission remains "very high" in some parts of Minnesota. "We are still having rates that are among the highest that we had during our delta surge," specialist Dr. Melanie Swift said Monday. (BMTN)

2. Some Twin Cities businesses are maintaining their own proof of vaccine rules, despite the city governments dropping the mandate last week. Doug DeVries of Fair State Brewing said the business will continue to require proof of vaccine so patrons and staff can feel safer. (CBS)

3. The Minneapolis Civil Rights Department announced Monday it will "conduct a special review" of the police department's no-knock warrant policy. The Office of Police Conduct Review will "focus on identifying and recommending specific changes and improvements," according to a city press release. (Patch)

4. Teachers in Minneapolis and St. Paul could vote to strike this week, the Reformer reports. Main negotiation issues include "wages, student mental health support and class sizes." (Minnesota Reformer)

5. The Minnesota State Patrol will increase the number of troopers on Minneapolis highways for the next 10 nights, especially "on Interstate 94 between the downtown area and I-694," according to an ABC report. Increased overnight patrols are part of a statewide effort to reduce crime. (KSTP)

Today in Minneapolis:

• Donate blood at Roosevelt Senior High. (8:30 a.m.)
• O'Shaughnessy Distilling hosts a Whiskey Dinner at The Lexington. (6 p.m.)
• Minneapolis Public Schools hosts a virtual forum for potential school board candidates. (7 p.m.)
• The Timberwolves take on the Charlotte Hornets at Target Center. (7 p.m.)
• Trivia Night at Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative. (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Two more candidates entered the Hennepin County Sheriff race. (KARE11)
• Kevin Hart will bring his "Reality Check" tour to Minneapolis this summer. (BMTN)
• The Minneapolis Behavioral Crisis Response team is now available 24 hours a day as part of a city pilot program. (Patch)
• A tribute was held this weekend for Deshaun Hill, the 15-year-old who was shot and killed in North Minneapolis last week. (CBS)
• NBC sports reporter and Edina resident Michele Tafoya is leaving her TV post to join Kendall Qualls' campaign for Minnesota governor. (Paid source: Star Tribune)

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That's all for today. See you tomorrow for more Minneapolis updates.

— Georgi Presecky

About me: Georgi is a Chicago-based newsletter writer and partner content curator. 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.