| Dec. 28, 2020 Snow is forecast Tuesday across much of Minnesota, with a winter weather advisory across central and southern parts of the state from tomorrow morning to Wednesday morning. Read more on the Updraft. Thousands of unemployed Minnesotans will benefit from the federal COVID-19 relief bill. State Commissioner of Employment and Economic Development Steve Grove says the federal aid is critical for thousands of Minnesotans.
"Over 100,000 Minnesotans risked falling out of the system, given the fact that these federal programs were ending so it was really important to have that new federal program signed into being last night and, of course, really important a few weeks back for Minnesotans to come together and do something at the state level too."
Grove says a state aid package will cover a one-week gap in extra pandemic benefits for many unemployed Minnesotans before the new federal aid begins flowing.
COVID-19 cases and deaths in Minnesota continue a downward trend, but there's a holiday effect on today’s data. The Minnesota Department of Health reports 1,087 new cases of COVID-19 and an additional 13 deaths. New cases, deaths and testing numbers are typically lower on Mondays. And the latest data is also affected by the Christmas holiday last week. But, averaged over the past week, the numbers continue to fall from early December peaks.
State health officials have warned that the improving picture could change dramatically if people don’t stay vigilant.
You can get more of the latest news, in just a few minutes, via the Minnesota Today podcast.
— Kirsti Marohn | MPR News | 