Good morning and welcome to a new week. Let's get to it. Sunny and hot. Twin Cities highs in the mid-90s with 10 to 20 mph winds and a 50 percent chance of storms at night. Statewide highs from upper 80s to mid-90s, aside from on Lake Superior, with possible evening storms. More on Updraft | Forecast A veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council supports dismantling the city's police department. The nine council members favoring the move say past efforts to reform the department have failed, so they are now favoring dismantling the department rather than trying new training policies or oversight.
However, this won't be an overnight change. "This isn't like, tomorrow we're not going to have a police department and we're going to have this huge gap," Council Member Phillipe Cunningham said. "There will be intentional transition and investments and policies. I just want to make sure folks understand that there's not going to be suddenly no one to call when they need help."
The mayor of Minnesota's largest city does not agree with the City Council. In a statement Sunday, Jacob Frey said he pledged to work alongside Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and the community "toward deep, structural reform and addressing systemic racism in police culture. And we’re ready to dig in and enact more community-led, public safety strategies on behalf of our city.”
As demonstrations continued in Minnesota and elsewhere, protesters say they won't stop until there's change. At a memorial for George Floyd, the Rev. Al Sharpton said the movement that started after his killing will "change the whole system of justice."
Some changes have already happened since Floyd's death. Minneapolis has banned police chokeholds and is requiring officers to intervene whenever a peer uses unauthorized force. More symbols of slavery and the Confederacy came down in the South, including a 176-year-old slave auction block in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Now, onto COVID-19. Cases are continuing to rise and the death toll has reached 1,186. However, the number of hospitalizations is continuing to fall and the number of tests exceeded 10,000 for the fourth day in a row.
Here are the latest coronavirus statistics : 27,886 cases confirmed via 344,203 tests 1,186 deaths 3,367 cases requiring hospitalization 450 people remain hospitalized; 199 in intensive care 22,992 patients no longer needing isolation Before we go ... I want to know: What are you thinking about Minnesota media in the wake of George Floyd's killing? I'm doing a story on the local news and I want to hear from you. Write me at [email protected].
— Cody Nelson, MPR News | @codyleenelson | 