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Getting to 70%

About 60% of Minnesotans 16 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. State officials would like the figure to get to 70%. One would think getting to 70 from 60 would be relatively easy, especially given that the supply of vaccines is up and the state is even encouraging walk-in vaccinations. Gov. Tim Walz has promised to end the state’s mask mandate for public indoor places as soon as we get to 70 percent, or by July 1 at the latest. And yet the pace of Minnesotans lining up for a vaccination is slowing. It may be old story of the low-hanging fruit — those ...

Ransomware crisis hits oil pipeline

Cyber criminals hiding out in the former Soviet Union struck at a major U.S. oil pipeline company this week, hitting Colonial Pipeline with a ransomware attack that force the pipeline to shut down temporarily. The pipeline, which provides about 45 percent of the fuel to the Eastern seaboard, is expected to start up before the lack of service creates problems, price spikes and shortages, but this attack is one more example of the danger of this type of crime. Ransomware attacks occur when hackers break into a company or agency’s computer system, scramble their data and demand large ...

Facebook and Trump

When Donald J. Trump was president, the presidency was not a bully enough pulpit for him (“bully” meaning excellent, as Theodore Roosevelt used it), he used social media as no president had before to spread his views and opinions to the public directly, to mock his opponents and praise his friends. When he used Twitter and Facebook to claim victory in the 2020 presidential election when election officials, courts, and even the U.S. Congress said he lost, and to call supporters to the Capitol to try to keep him in office, Facebook and Twitter finally pulled the plug on him.Twitter ...

Playing hardball on vehicle emissions

Republicans in the Minnesota Senate have decided to play hardball on the issue of auto emission standards in the state. Hardball is the only game available to them, unfortunately. Republicans are willing to shut down the state parks, indeed, much of the state’s environmental administration, if Gov. Tim Walz continues with plans for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to adopt the California vehicle emissions standards for the state. This move is coming from the administration side of state government with no legislative involvement. The MPCA writes the rules for state emission ...

COVID rules to ease, power struggle remains

Gov. Tim Walz announced a timetable for the easing and ending of the state’s COVID-19 rules on Thursday. The argument over his ability to make such rules in the first place continues on, however. Here’s what will happen with the rules: As of noon today (Friday) there will be no more capacity limits for outdoor dining, and other outdoor events and get-togethers. The outdoor mask requirement will end, except for large venues with more than 500 people. On May 28, the Friday before Memorial Day, seating capacity and distancing limits will end for indoor events and gatherings. Masks ...

Some COVID practices worth keeping

Gov. Tim Walz last week was speaking hopefully to business leaders about a possible turn of the COVID-19 dial to ease restrictions this summer, including a nearly normal Minnesota State Fair. His hopes were based on increasing immunization rates and a downward trend for new cases. We do need to keep pressing for more vaccinations, state officials say, and we can’t ease up on basic precautions for staying healthy. But there is some hope that we could be returning to normal sooner rather than later. When that day does come when we are back to our normal lives, there are a few things ...