>>State Health Department Urges Measles Vaccines After 1st Case in 2 Years
(St. Paul, MN) — The Minnesota Department of Health urges children’s vaccinations after a measles case was diagnosed in Dakota County. M-D-H says the 16-month-old child was unvaccinated and recently returned from international travel. It’s the first measles case in Minnesota since 2022. State health officials say the measles vaccination rate for two-year-olds has dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic and was below 80 percent last year.
>>Mille Lacs County Improving Mental Health Services
(Mille Lacs County, MN) — Funding from the state’s opioid settlement is being used for a new mental health co-responder position in Mille Lacs County. Co-responder Jessie Noehring says the goal is to improve community mental health services. She says by responding in time to crises. We can do various things like de-escalation, provide resources, and safety assessments. We’re figuring out what the community needs at this point. Noehring has a dog named Rufus that will accompany her on some calls. She has worked in the Mille Lacs County drug treatment court and as a death investigator with the medical examiner.
>>COVID Death Shifts
(Minneapolis, MN) — University of Minnesota research on the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic shows about 1.2 million excess deaths that were attributed to natural causes, resulting in an undercounted number of deaths due to the disease. When asked about a widespread belief among many Americans that COVID-19 deaths were overcounted instead, Sociology Associate Professor Elizabeth Wrigley-Field says their analysis suggests it simply isn’t plausible due to how death certificates work. She says in almost all COVID deaths early on, COVID was listed as the primary underlying cause, but as the pandemic continued, it became more common for it to be listed as only a contributing factor. Wrigley-Field says there’s little evidence of patients being listed as COVID-19 deaths if they incidentally had the disease when they died.
>>Three Juveniles Arrested in Connection to Armed Robbery
(Minneapolis, MN) — Three male juveniles are in custody in connection with an armed robbery in Minneapolis on Monday. Around 1:15 p.m., police identified two stolen white Kias believed to be involved in the robbery. Officers pursued the vehicles through northeast and North Minneapolis at high speeds. One Kia crashed into another car, leading to the arrest of the three juveniles and the recovery of a handgun. The other Kia hasn’t been located. Police are investigating if the suspects were involved in a string of 14 robberies in Minneapolis over the weekend.
>>Motley Crue to Perform at Minnesota State Fair on August 29th
(Falcon Heights, MN) — Motley Crue is coming to the Minnesota State Fair this summer. The 1980s hair metal band will perform in the State Fair Grandstand on Thursday, August 29th. Motley Crue played at U-S Bank Stadium with Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett in August of 2022. Tickets for the State Fair show go on sale this Friday through Etix. Prices range from 77 to 154 dollars.
