Walz to mandate face masks indoors across Minnesota

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may [see it online](. [Star Tribune]( Talkers Top stories - Walz to mandate face masks indoors across Minnesota: Gov. Tim Walz is expected to announce a statewide mandate on Wednesday [requiring Minnesotans to wear face masks]( in stores, public buildings and other indoor spaces where people gather, a dramatic extension of his emergency powers in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic that still appears on the upswing in many states. [An additional 507 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths]( were reported Wednesday by the Minnesota Health Department. Confirmed case counts have generally been increasing since mid-June, when testing was finding about 300 to 400 cases each day. - U.S. signs contract with Pfizer for COVID-19 vaccine doses: The Trump administration will pay Pfizer nearly $2 billion for a December [delivery of 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine]( the pharmaceutical company is developing, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Wednesday. The U.S. could buy another 500 million doses under the agreement, Azar said. - Reactions to police overhaul go from lukewarm to slap in face: A compromise product of a divided state Legislature, the package of policing changes was welcomed as a step in the right direction — but one that [falls far short of the sort of transformational change]( demanded after the police killing of George Floyd. Attorney and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong called the final product “a slap in the face” to Black Minnesotans. And even one police group said the reforms didn’t go far enough. - Scientists grasp for clues as seemingly healthy people spread COVID-19: As workers return to offices, children prepare to return to schools and those desperate for normalcy again visit malls and restaurants, the emerging science points to a menacing reality — if people who appear healthy can transmit the illness, [it may be impossible to contain.]( - Klobuchar co-authors Save our Stages bill to help shuttered music venues: The bill, co-authored with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and introduced Wednesday, [asks for $10 billion in relief money]( to help venues through the next six months. The funds would be distributed via grants of up to $12 million per venue, or 45 percent of the venues’ operating costs in 2019. - Deaths in Minnesota long-term care plummet: The deaths in long-term care facilities that fueled the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota have [dropped tenfold since the state launched an aggressive testing and staffing plan]( to protect workers and residents. - Outbreak at Iowa pork plant was larger than state reported: The first confirmed coronavirus outbreak at an Iowa meatpacking plant was [far more severe than previously known](, with more than twice as many workers becoming infected than the state Department of Public Health told the public, newly released records show. - "I wish her well," Trump says of Epstein companion Ghislaine Maxwell: President Donald Trump on Tuesday [offered sympathetic words to Ghislaine Maxwell](, the longtime companion of Jeffrey Epstein who stands accused of facilitating the abuse of girls by the now-deceased sex offender. Maxwell, 58, was denied bail last week and is to remain behind bars as she awaits trial on charges she recruited girls for the financier to sexually abuse more than two decades ago. - Minneapolis-based IT company raises $468M from IPO, a state record: JAMF Holdings has raised $468 million after it increased the size and price of its initial public stock offering, making it [the largest IPO in Minnesota history.](  Watch this Why you should keep your distance from bison: A scary moment in Yellowstone National Park was caught on camera when [a bison suddenly charged a couple]( that had gotten too close, and the woman fell while trying to get out of the way. The bison stood over her as she played dead, eventually losing interest before being chased off.  Talk to us! Send feedback on this newsletter, questions, story tips, ideas or anything else to [talkers@startribune.com](.  Trending - Minnesota State Fair announces drive-thru for classic fair food: [The “multi-hour” drive-through experience]( will feature 16 vendors and their famous fair treats during three long weekends, before and during the time the fair would have taken place — if not for COVID-19 canceling the annual get-together. - How to see (and photograph) comet Neowise before it disappears for 6,800 years: The comet will [make its closest approach to Earth]( on Wednesday night and eventually fade from view. - Sports Illustrated's newest swimsuit model is 56 years old and stands 5-foot-3: Kathy Jacobs says it’s important not to discount people because of their age or height. She should know — the petite 56-year-old is [a brand new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue model](.  Sports roundup - Kevin Garnett, Wilf family interested in buying Wolves: Timberwolves (and Star Tribune) owner Glen Taylor [is considering selling the team]( with a stipulation that the new owners must keep it in Minnesota, and former Wolves star Kevin Garnett said he is a part of a group with interest in buying it. Also said to be “serious candidates” to be buyers, according to ESPN, are Zygi and Mark Wilf, owners of the Vikings. - Vikings season ticket holders can opt out ahead of expected limited capacity: Ahead of what is expected to be "significantly reduced capacity" for scheduled Vikings games at U.S. Bank Stadium, the team is allowing fans to [opt out of season-ticket plans in 2020.]( - Secret to Twins catcher Mitch Garver's success? Crushing it with science. Garver blended science, baseball analytics and common sense in devising the approach that [produced a Babe Ruth-like 31 home runs in 311 at-bats last year.](  Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can [sign up for Talkers here](.  Worth a click Maine man saws neighbor's garage in half amid boundary dispute: "A man who cut his neighbor’s garage in half with a Sawzall was on friendly terms with the man who built the structure — just not with everyone who lived on the property after he died," [reports Ernie Clark of the Bangor Daily News.](  From the archives July 22, 1989: Thousands turned out at a Nicollet Mall block party to sample the fare of food booths set up by restaurants and to dance to live music. 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