Minnesota's high school robotics teams design gear for COVID-19 first responders

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may [see it online](. [Star Tribune]( Talkers Top stories - Minnesota's high school robotics teams design gear for COVID-19 first responders: Minnesota boasts some of the nation’s top high school robotics teams. And when their spring competition season fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic, they didn’t whine or complain. Instead, they jumped into the fight against the novel coronavirus, turning their engineering skills to [designing and manufacturing personal protective gear]( for nurses, doctors and first responders across Minnesota and beyond. - Minnesota bans large, in-person graduation ceremonies: New state guidelines recommend that schools planning car parades or parking lot ceremonies ask participants to arrive in separate vehicles, and keep all ceremonies brief. [Ceremonies will not be allowed indoors or in football stadiums.]( - Death toll climbs to 55 at New Hope nursing home: The COVID-19 death toll at St. Therese of New Hope — [the site of the state’s deadliest outbreak]( since the pandemic began — has more than quadrupled in the past two weeks. [Twenty-six more people have died from COVID-19]( in Minnesota, state health officials reported Friday, and the number of confirmed cases across the state pushed above the 10,000 mark for the first time. We are continuing to [track the spread of COVID-19 in Minnesota here.]( - Justice Department drops criminal case against ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn: [The action Thursday was a stunning reversal]( for one of the signature cases brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. It comes even though prosecutors for the past three years have maintained that Flynn lied to the FBI in a January 2017 interview about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Shortly before the filing was submitted, Brandon Van Grack, a Mueller team member and veteran prosecutor on the case, withdrew from the prosecution, a possible sign of disagreement with the decision. - Jobless rate spikes to 14.7%, highest since Great Depression: The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, [the highest rate since the Great Depression](, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy. - After "bumpy" GOP endorsement fight, Michelle Fischbach seeks to unseat Collin Peterson: A bitter convention fight spanning eight rounds of voting has [called into question GOP unity]( in the rural western Minnesota Seventh Congressional District, which Peterson has represented in Congress since 1991. - Georgia father, son face murder charges in killing of black man: Georgia authorities [arrested a white father and son Thursday and charged them with murder]( in the February shooting death of a black man they had pursued in a truck after spotting him running in their neighborhood. The charges came more than two months after Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed on a residential street just outside the port city of Brunswick. National outrage over the case swelled this week after cellphone video that appeared to show the shooting. - Land O' Lakes opens Wi-Fi spots to help rural broadband access: [The hotspots allow students to finish homework]( and sick people to connect with medical facilities in a time of crisis. More important, it is a step forward for communities, says CEO Beth Ford. - Waseca police officer who was shot in the head walks on his own: Arik Matson, 32, [took about 10 steps on his own last week](, and this week started working on going up and down stairs, according to his sister-in-law Nicole Matson, who on Thursday posted an update on the officer's condition on his CaringBridge site.  Hey, look at this Bear spotted hanging out at Duluth mall: It was a true bearicade. [A rotund black bear strolled up to an entrance]( of Duluth’s Miller Hill Mall in the darkness early Wednesday morning and looked around curiously for a while. Bad news, bear. The mall was closed.  Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to [talkers@startribune.com](.  Trending - Hy-Vee adds 2-hour order pickup option for $10: The grocery chain has also [expanded its online product assortment]( with more choices from bakery, cosmetics, beauty, and lawn and garden. - Mother's Day this year means getting creative from afar: Treats made and delivered by neighbors. Fresh garden plantings dug from a safe 6 feet away. Trips around the world set up room-to-room at home. [Mother's Day this year is a mix of love and extra imagination]( as families do without their usual brunches and huggy meet-ups. - The 5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities this week: From dumplings to dalgona coffee, [here’s a rundown of our dining diaries’ greatest hits]( over the past seven days.  Sports roundup - Five things to ponder from the NFL's 2020 schedule: While all major sports leagues have been delayed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic, [the NFL is hopeful to kick off the season as usual Sept. 10.]( - These old men can't fish this weekend, but still have great tales to tell: Not everyone who wants to will be fishing when walleye season opens Saturday. Sitting this one out will be thousands of elderly Minnesotans who are confined to nursing homes by the pandemic, with no one allowed in and no one allowed out, [writes Dennis Anderson.]( - Why are Minnesota's pro teams named after the state, not a city? Indeed, every major league team in our market is named after the state rather than a city, which is unusual in pro sports. [Why is that?](  Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can [sign up for Talkers here](.  Worth a click A guide to staying safe as states reopen: Can I eat at a restaurant? Can I go shopping? Can I hug my friends again? [Experts weigh in.](  From the archives May 8, 1927: Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis as it appeared in the 1920s. (Photo: Star Tribune) Connect with Star Tribune [facebook]([twitter]([pinterest]([instagram]( [Manage email preferences]( • [Subscribe to Star Tribune]( • [Privacy Policy]( • [Unsubscribe]( This email was sent by: StarTribune, 650 3rd Ave S, Suite #1300, Minneapolis, MN, 55488 © 2020 StarTribune. All rights reserved. We value your opinion! [Give us your feedback.](