| Oct. 26, 2020 Where did October go? Single-digit lows arrive in Minnesota . Tonight will be mostly clear and cold with lows from 7 to 15 degrees. Tomorrow will be sunny in the morning, with a few afternoon clouds and highs in the mid-30s. Gov. Tim Walz says the next six to 12 weeks will be some of the most difficult of the pandemic. As Minnesota’s COVID-19 numbers continue to move swiftly in the wrong direction, Walz on Monday implored Minnesotans to do more to stem the disease’s rampant spread while his top health officials urged people to rethink plans for large holiday gatherings. Asked if he were prepared to reinstitute business closures or other more drastic measures, Walz said the course of the pandemic had shifted, and that stores and other public settings weren’t the concern they had been. He said, however, if the pandemic continues to accelerate, he will look for other actions to slow its spread. Nearly 1,600 new cases reported today, continuing an October with average new counts of more than 1,000 a day. Hospitalizations also remain at the highest levels yet during the pandemic .A stretch of elevated daily death tolls from COVID-19 slowed today, with four additional deaths reported by state health officials. It ends a five-day stretch of double-digit death tolls. Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis is healing from emergency surgery to address what his campaign says was a potentially life-threatening internal hernia. Minnesota Republican Party Chair Jennifer Carnahan says with eight days to go until Election Day other Republicans will campaign on Lewis' behalf. — Tim Nelson | MPR News | 