Good morning. It's the middle of the week and we're highlighting some critical facts about Minnesota. First, weather. Sunny and warm. Twin Cities highs in the upper 80s with 5 to 10 mph winds and nighttime lows in the lower 60s. Statewide highs from the upper 70s to upper 80s with evening lows from the mid-50s to lower 60s. Down to the mid-40s around Lake Superior at night. More on Updraft | Forecast Minnesota, and especially Minneapolis, is one of the most racially unequal places in the country. Planet Money dug into the data recently. Read the whole thing here. The main points are below:
The median black family in the Twin Cities area earns $38,178 a year — which is less than half of the median white family income of $84,459 a year. This income inequality gap is one of the largest in the nation ; only nearby Milwaukee, Wis., is worse. The state of Minnesota as a whole has the second biggest income inequality gap between blacks and whites in the entire nation; only the District of Columbia is worse.Before the pandemic, the black unemployment rate in Minnesota was at a historic low, but it was still double the white rate. In 2016, the Twin Cities area black unemployment rate was more than three times the white unemployment rate. According to the most recent census data, the black poverty rate in the Twin Cities area was 25.4 percent, which is over four times the white poverty rate of 5.9 percent. The Twin Cities area black poverty rate is significantly higher than the national black poverty rate of 22 percent, while the white poverty rate is significantly lower than the national one of 9 percent. While about three-quarters of white families in the Twin Cities own homes, only about one-quarter of black families do. The area had a long history where "racial covenants" made it hard for blacks to become homebuyers and live in white neighborhoods. In 2019, the incarceration rate of blacks in the Twin Cities area was 11 times that of whites. The state of Minnesota has one of the nation's worst education achievement gaps between blacks and whites. In 2019, it ranked 50th when it comes to racial disparities in high school graduation rates.The state has launched a broad investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department's civil rights record. It'll scrutinize the last decade of police actions, practices, policies and training. Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero says she'll seek quick changes at the department while examining long-term structural problems.
Many changes will be necessary, activists say. Justin Terrell, executive director of the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage, is calling for an overhaul of the state police licensing board, subpoena power for civilian review boards and a set of “integrity standards” for officers where they can be fired for not telling the truth.
Police problems aren't just the result of a few bad apples, Terrell says. “We often hear the rotten apple example. We’re dealing with a cancer. This is what’s going on with law enforcement right now," Terrell said, adding that he found it frustrating to discover officers tied to the Floyd case had histories of complaints against them. "It makes no sense that you would continue to give someone with that many complaints a badge and a gun to patrol my neighborhood," he said. "Send them to your neighborhood if you have that much faith in them.”
A federal report says extremists targeted Minnesota in the wake of George Floyd's killing. Politico is reporting on a memo from the federal Department of Homeland Security that said white supremacists urged others to shoot at demonstrators and provoke more violence.
If you want to help Minneapolis communities, here are some more ways to do so. Reclaim the Block, a group promoting Minneapolis health and safety, is compiling a list of nonprofits and other organizations that could use help.
A new COVID-19 vaccine candidate entered its second phase of clinical trials this week. Kerri Miller brought two vaccine experts on her show to discuss the state of vaccine development and how soon there may be one for public use.
Here are the latest coronavirus statistics: 25,508 cases confirmed via 258,747 tests 1,072 deaths 3,134 cases requiring hospitalization 537 people remain hospitalized; 248 in intensive care 20,381 patients no longer needing isolation — Cody Nelson. MPR News | @codyleenelson | 