Survey signals support for returning kids to school this fall

Finally! A cool down. After a steamy stormy week, we deserve a nice breeze. It’s not the strongest front on the weather maps, but a noticeably drier and cooler air mass oozes south from Canada on Friday’s gentle northwest wind. We may be free of temps in the 90s this weekend, too, with highs projected in the 80s for the southern half of the state and the 70s further north. Check out more on the Updraft blog.

Survey says: Many parents support opening school buildings in the fall. The survey wasn’t scientific but collected more than 130,000 completed responses between June 15 and July 6. From that pool, 64 percent of those responding indicating they'd feel comfortable sending their students back into school buildings this fall. But the planning around what reopening schools will look like is a big, open question.

COVID-19 in Minnesota today: Cases top 40K; hospitalizations dip . The pandemic passed another milestone as the Health Department Thursday reported the state had confirmed more than 40,000 cases. The number of confirmed cases and the rate of positive tests for the disease have risen noticeably the past few days, even as deaths and hospitalizations plateau. On Wednesday, health officials said the increase in the positive test rate may be due to focused testing in areas suspected of having significant community spread of the virus.

As cases rise, Bemidji hospital braces for patients. Sanford Medical Center has worked for months to prepare for COVID-19. A recent spike in cases among young people now has the hospital waiting — and worrying. “I can tell you,” Dr. Ramy Abdelfattah said, “I bring this home with me. When I have free time, I’m just planning. I’m just imagining the worst.” Abdelfattah is staying the course — but outside his hospital, many, it seems, are not. And it’s starting to catch up in the community.