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Sign of progress

Minnesota reached a special point in the battle against COVID-19 on Monday. For the first time since last April 13 last year, the state recorded no new deaths due to the virus. There’s still a long, long way to go before the battle against COVID-19 is over, but this is an encouraging sign of progress. At its peak in December and January, COVID was claiming 50, 60, 70 lives a day or more. The peak was 101 on Nov. 27, 2020. We expect there will be more deaths in the future. But we should all do what we can to prevent the continued spread of the disease. First of all, get vaccinated ...

The hope of an end to the COVID-19 pandemic is still in our own hands

One year and one week ago, Minnesota confirmed its first case of COVID-19, spinning the state and the world into chaos. The pandemic proved both frightening and disruptive, as is expected of any historic crisis, but also unexpectedly and oddly monotonous. The first year of COVID-19 was a disaster that unfolded in disconcertingly slow motion, at low volume and behind closed doors. After the initial shock of shutdowns and shortages, for many who did not become seriously ill or lose a loved one, the defining daily sign of the pandemic was a haunting, flattening experience. For the past ...

COVID-19’s origin no excuse for racism

OK, we know that the COVID-19 virus originated in Wuhan, China. We know that it spread from there around the world, causing this terrible pandemic we are battling. But the idea that people of Chinese or Asian descent, some of whom have lived in this country for generations, are responsible for the virus, and for spreading it, is absurd. But some people — the same people, no doubt, who thought you could get the so-called swine flu from eating pork chops or bacon, or the avian flu from eating chicken — have put two and two together and come up with five, assisted by the former ...

The state budget dance begins

The major task of the 2021 session of the Minnesota Legislature is to pass a budget for the next two years. With Democrats in control of the House and the governor’s office, and the Republicans in control of the Senate, this is a dance reminiscent of the “West Side Story” rumble between the Sharks and the Jets. Gov. Tim Walz started the dance in January with his proposal for a $52.4 billion budget balanced by raising taxes on the state’s top 0.7% of wage earners and companies that have profited during the pandemic. He, of course, was working from the November budget forecast ...

Mpls settlement comes at funny time

Last Friday, Minneapolis city leaders approved a mammoth $27 million settlement in a civil suit brought by the family of George Floyd. It is the largest pre-trial settlement of its kind anywhere in the nation. It’s a huge amount of money, far surpassing the $20 million settlement the city approved for the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, killed by former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor when she approached his police car in the dark after calling 911 to report a possible sexual assault in progress. In that case, like the Floyd case, the officer accused of the killing was ...

We are winning, thanks to COVID soldiers

On Friday, when Gov. Tim Walz announced the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, he was enthusiastic and optimistic. “I’m here to tell you that we’re winning. We’re winning, and this thing is coming to an end,” Walz said at his livestreamed announcement. He’s right. The number of COVID-19 vaccinations is going up and the number of new cases and deaths each day is declining. While we have a long way to go before saying “We Won!”, it feels good to be able to say we have the upper hand. And the reason we are winning is all the COVID-19 “soldiers” who have been ...