Traditionally low-key race for Hennepin County attorney heats up

And Walz and Flanagan got their COVID boosters 

View this email as a web page Sept. 16, 2022 It's a garden variety rainfall pattern around most of Minnesota overnight into early Saturday, but the next low-pressure wave moving into Minnesota Saturday has the potential to spark a few strong to possibly severe cells. NOAA's Storm Prediction Center paints a slight risk zone for severe storms across most of central Minnesota Saturday. The risk zone includes areas in and around Morris, St. Cloud, Brainerd, Walker and Hinckley. If you're in this zone Saturday, keep an eye out for a few strong to severe storms and possible watches and warnings. Subscribe to our Minnesota Today podcast to get up-to-date news twice daily. Minnesota regulators OK building massive solar power station near Becker State regulators have signed off on Xcel Energy's plan to start construction on the largest solar-energy project in the Upper Midwest. Xcel says it expects the Sherco Solar project to be fully operational by late 2025.   Mankato gunfire: Lockdowns lifted, but suspect still at large A reported shooting in a Mankato, Minn., neighborhood sent a neighboring hospital and a clinic into lockdown Friday morning. The lockdowns were lifted by early afternoon as police searched for a suspect believed to be involved in the shooting, which happened just before 9 a.m. on the 100 block of Echo Street. Authorities said one person was treated for a non-life-threatening injury. Traditionally low-key race for Hennepin County attorney heats up County attorney races are generally low-key affairs, but the election for Hennepin County attorney more than two years after George Floyd was murdered by a former Minneapolis police officer shows signs of becoming increasingly contentious.   Motorcycle fatalities in Minnesota this year running far ahead of 2021 The state's Office of Traffic Safety said Thursday that preliminary counts show 73 motorcycle riders have died in crashes on Minnesota roads this year. That compares to 55 at the same time last year, and 67 for all of 2021. Walz, Flanagan: Get COVID boosters before fall to guard against omicron Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and their spouses received their latest boosters Friday in a public awareness push. Walz said 9,000 to 10,000 people per day are getting a free, bivalent booster shot that can guard against serious illness from omicron-related variants. This week's COVID-19 data gives reasons to be cautiously optimistic This week's COVID-19 data for Minnesota continues to show declines in cases, hospitalizations and some wastewater data. But deaths remain elevated, and the Metropolitan Council is reporting a 36 percent increase from the previous week in wastewater entering the Metro Plant for the week ending Sept. 12. SPONSOR   Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe today! Preference Center ❘ Unsubscribe This email was sent by: Minnesota Public Radio 480 Cedar Street Saint Paul, MN, 55101