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Minnesota working through first phase of vaccine rollout

Associated Press/Report for America MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota health officials on Wednesday said the state continues to vaccinate healthcare workers, long-term care residents and staff but a limited supply of vaccine doses means it lags behind other states that have moved on to their next phase. Kris Ehresmann, Minnesota’s infectious diseases director, said doses are being allocated by the federal government in proportion to states’ populations due to a limited supply of vaccine nationally. Ehresmann said the state is expected to receive 250,000 doses by the end of the week, which ...

Ellison files suit to halt Winnebago New Year’s Eve event

WINNEBAGO (AP) —Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Wednesday he wants to shut down a planned New Year’s Eve party in Winnebago because it violates Gov. Tim Walz’s executive order on activities that could hasten the spread of COVID-19. Ellison said in a release that the Carlson Event Center in the southeastern Minnesota town advertises the event as a “big new year’s dance” and asks attendees to bring their own beer and liquor. The release said phone calls and emails to the business have not been returned. Ellison said when a business “irresponsibly opens to ...

‘Like a bathtub filling up’: Alabama is slammed by the virus

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — With its dozen intensive care beds already full, Cullman Regional Medical Center began looking desperately for options as more and more COVID-19 patients showed up. Ten beds normally used for less severe cases were transformed into intensive care rooms, with extra IV machines brought in. Video monitors were set up to enable the staff to keep watch over patients whenever a nurse had to scurry away to care for someone else. The patch did the job — for the time being, at least. “We’re kind of like a bathtub that’s filling up with water and the drain ...

State capitols face showdown over COVID powers and spending

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — State lawmakers across the country will convene in 2021 with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic rippling through much of their work — even affecting the way they work. After 10 months of emergency orders and restrictions from governors and local executive officials, some lawmakers are eager to reassert their power over decisions that shape the way people shop, work, worship and attend school. They also will face virus-induced budget pressures, with rising demand for spending on public health and social services colliding with uncertain tax revenue in an ...

Biden criticizes pace of vaccine rollout, vows to accelerate

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration Tuesday for the pace of distributing COVID-19 vaccines and predicted that “things will get worse before they get better” when it comes to the pandemic. “We need to be honest — the next few weeks and months are going to be very tough, very tough for our nation. Maybe the toughest during this entire pandemic,” Biden said during remarks in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday. His comments come as the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 336,000 Americans, with experts warning holiday ...

Fired Tyson boss says COVID office pool was a ‘morale boost’

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — One of the Tyson Foods managers fired for betting on how many workers would contract COVID-19 at an Iowa pork plant said the office pool was spontaneous fun and intended to boost morale. Don Merschbrock, former night manager at the plant in Waterloo, Iowa, said he was speaking in an attempt to show that the seven fired supervisors are “not the evil people” that Tyson has portrayed. “We really want to clear our names,” he told The Associated Press. “We actually worked very hard and took care of our team members well.” Tyson announced the ...