Walz says Minnesota must 'go it alone' on testing

Spring warmth slowly coming back. There will be more sunlight tomorrow with above-freezing highs across the state. The Twin Cities and most of southern Minnesota should see highs in the 40s. Temps will continue to ramp up for the rest of this week.

COVID-19 in Minnesota today: Nearly 200 Minnesotans hospitalized, 93 in ICU. Minnesota officials on Wednesday reported 87 deaths tied to COVID-19, up eight from Tuesday. The total count of positive tests for the disease since the pandemic began hit 1,809, with just over half recovered. Gov. Tim Walz has said the state needs to be testing some 5,000 people a day by early May as part of the effort to reopen the economy.

How are you managing your finances during the pandemic? In a two-part national conversation, “Hard Questions, Real Answers: COVID-19 and the Economy,” host Kerri Miller and financial experts shared tips and advice to help you manage your finances during the pandemic, and explained what’s happening to the economy and what we know — and don’t know — about how soon it will recover. Read or listen to part 1 and part 2 of the special coverage.

Meet Minnesotan, World War II veteran, Dan Cylkowski. He knew he was military bound, but his choice was made for him when a draft notice from the Army arrived. The son of a World War I veteran with a brother in the Air Corps says he was proud to join the Army “to serve my country.”

MPR News photographer Evan Frost interviewed Dan Cylkowski. Read or listen to that interview here. It is part of MPR News’ Portraits of Valor series, which features Minnesota’s World War II veterans.

ICYMI: Your stories of how you stay in touch with loved ones. The ways Minnesotans are staying in touch with their loved ones amid the coronavirus pandemic run the gamut of emotions -- some stories are heartbreaking, like one Minnesotan who visits her husband, through a window, at his memory care facility, and some are inspiring and delightful, like the grandmother who joyously learned how to use Zoom to chat with her family. Here are some stories from people in the MPR News audience on how they’re communicating in a time of social distancing.

— Jiwon Choi, MPR News