Minnesota schools reopen, brace for COVID-19 surge

One year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol 

View in Browser | Listen Good morning, A reprieve from the cold snap. Mostly sunny today and warmer with highs 7 to 15 north, to mid 20s to lower 30s south. Mild conditions continue Tuesday then temperatures plummet again. The latest from Updraft. Hand sanitizer and test kits sit on tables in the cafeteria of Parkview Center Elementary School in Roseville, Minn., on Feb. 1, 2021. Minnesota school leaders say they're bracing for a surge in COVID-19 cases from winter holidays and omicron spread. Evan Frost | MPR News 2021 As students return to classrooms on Monday, school leaders across Minnesota are readying themselves for what may be a spike in COVID-19 cases. "It doesn't look good," Bloomington Public School district. Community relations executive director Rick Kaufman said. "I think it's going to be an extreme struggle for school districts coming back in January. … Primarily, I think it's going to be difficult for staffing." What else we're watching: Poll: Democracy in crisis A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds that 64 percent of Americans believe U.S. democracy is "in crisis and at risk of failing." That sentiment is felt most acutely by Republicans: Two-thirds of GOP respondents agree with the verifiably false claim that "voter fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 election" — a key pillar of the "big lie" that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. How will pandemic end? Omicron clouds forecasts for endgame Pandemics do eventually end, even if omicron is complicating the question of when this one will. But it won't be like flipping a light switch: The world will have to learn to coexist with a virus that's not going away. Preparing for bison Work continues at Dakota County's Spring Lake Park Reserve to prepare for the arrival of bison next fall. It's a new part of a statewide effort to maintain a self-sustaining bison herd in Minnesota. – Michael Olson, MPR News SPONSOR   Connect With Us MPRnews.org MPRnews on iOS MPRnews on Android Podcasts from MPR News Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe today. Preference Center ❘ Unsubscribe You received this email because you subscribed or it was sent to you by a friend. This email was sent by: Minnesota Public Radio 480 Cedar Street Saint Paul, MN, 55101