🌱 Walz Calls In More Nurses + Light Rail Saga Continues

Morning, Minneapolis! Let's start this Saturday with the latest local news.

First, today's weather: Clouds breaking; not as cold. High: 28 Low: 13.

Here are the top 5 stories in Minneapolis today:

1. More than 1,500 Minnesotans are hospitalized with COVID-19 and 213 are in intensive care, according to the state Department of Health. More than 70 percent of hospitals are reporting full intensive care units. (KARE11)

2. Gov. Tim Walz announced yesterday that more than 200 nurses will come to Minnesota to help lessen the strain on the state's health care workers. A team of 20 doctors and nurses is expected to arrive today at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. (BMTN)

3. Some lawmakers are seeking an audit of the Southwest Light Rail project. It was announced this week that the plan will cost $2.75 billion and would not open until 2027. (MinnPost)

4. Minneapolis City Council approved $16.8 million in affordable housing investments throughout the city this week. Council Member Lisa Goodman said the plan will help finance more than 790 homes "so that our precariously housed neighbors have a place to call home in our city."(Patch)

5. Online dealership Carvana is looking to build Minnesota's first "vehicle vending machine" in Brooklyn Center. No formal proposal has been made, but the company submitted a letter of intent and concept plans to the city council. (BMTN)

Today in Minneapolis:

• Twin Cities Vintage Fest features more than 100 vendors of '80s and '90s clothing and memorabilia. (9 a.m.)
• Get vaccinated against COVID-19 at a Hiawatha College Prep clinic. (11 a.m.)
• Join a free meditation and sound therapy session at The Cultural Wellness Center. (4 p.m.)
• The Moon Palace Books Cinema Book Club discusses "The Power of the Dog." (4 p.m.)
• David Spade takes his "Catch Me Inside" tour to the Pantages Theatre. (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Minnesotans are having "limited success" finding free N95 masks at Hy-Vee pharmacies. (Paid source: Star Tribune)
• IFC Films and Shudder acquired the rights to Minnesota filmmaker Andrew Semans' Sundance hit "Resurrection." (Deadline)
• The Minneapolis Institute of Art recognized Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 26 with its exhibition "Envisioning Evil: ‘The Nazi Drawings’ by Mauricio Lasanky." (MIA)
• New organic recycling drop-off sites are opening in the city, thanks to a Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board program. (MPRB)
• Minneapolis Public Schools announced "Winter Walk to School Day" on Feb. 2. (MPS)

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You're all caught up for today. See you soon for more Minneapolis news.

— 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.