A year of pain and change for nursing home residents, families

Happy Tuesday! Here are top news stories for your morning, after the weather.

Rain, rain and more rain this week. Temps will still be mild, but not as warm as Monday. Highs today range from the mid-50s to the lower 70s. There's a chance of rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon and the wet weather will likely stay with us until the weekend. Check out the latest forecast from Updraft.

While holding onto the memories of a devastating year, Minnesota's long-term care residents, families and staff are moving into a post-vaccine life.

A nursing home had nearly 70 residents die in three months; a daughter had to watch her 86-year-old mother with dementia decline as she was isolated in her nursing home. As COVID-19 vaccinations speed up at Minnesota's long-term care facilities, life is slowly returning to normal, after one of the most devastating years in the history of long-term care. As nursing homes open up, reporter Peter Cox talked to a family who had the hug with their loved one since the pandemic, and nursing home staff still grappling with COVID-19 aftermath.

The pattern of encouraging increases in inoculations vs. worrisome growth in new cases persists.

Minnesota’s most recent COVID-19 data shows the state’s vaccination rate continuing apace -- Monday's data showed 69,000 newly reported vaccinations, putting the seven-day trend at more than 54,000 shots daily. Officials, though, cautioned not to read too much into the most recent data given delays in reporting over the Easter weekend.

Chief Medaria Arradondo joined other MPD leaders in denouncing Derek Chauvin's use of force on George Floyd.

A key part of Derek Chauvin’s murder trial defense is that the Minneapolis officer’s use of force against George Floyd last May was appropriate and in line with department policy. But high-ranking Minneapolis police leaders have spent the past few days testifying that simply isn’t so, including Arradondo who told the court Monday that once Floyd stopped resisting, Chauvin's restraint "should have stopped."

📺Watch: A recap of the Monday proceedings.

Testimony in the trial resumes around 8:30 a.m. this morning. Watch the proceedings live on MPRNews.org or our Facebook page.

Stress is pushing teachers out of the classroom. More than a year after schools were forced to shut down because of COVID-19, teachers are struggling to cope with the added pressures and uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. Nearly 1,000 former public school teachers ranked stress above pay as the reason for leaving their positions – and some say they won’t return. This morning, host Kerri Miller will talk to two experts about teacher stress, recruiting new teachers, and what the future holds. Listen to their conversation live at 9 a.m.