skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

MN School Buildings Closed for School Year; Distance Learning Continues

play audio
Play

Friday, April 24, 2020   

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- For the rest of the school year, Minnesota students will have to learn remotely from their homes, as Gov. Tim Walz has extended school closures in response to the pandemic.

Calling it a "heartbreaking" decision, Walz -- a former teacher -- says classrooms will not reopen at any point for the last month-and-a-half of the academic year. In his announcement, the governor acknowledged how tough this news will be for the class of 2020.

"You will not be defined by staying home and missing proms, and missing graduations," says Walz. "You will be defined by understanding how interconnected the world is, and what it means to come together and try to solve hard problems."

Walz, along with the state's education commissioner, also noted how distance learning has pushed education inequalities even further into the spotlight in Minnesota. They say they will continue to examine the reasons some students are at a bigger disadvantage trying to learn from home.

In a statement, the state's largest teacher's union said it supports Walz's decision, and agrees that closing schools is widening learning disparities by income levels, race and geography.

Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker says going beyond addressing the distance-learning gaps, the state is looking at how some students will need to catch up in the future.

"It is an entire school-year-long expectation that we will have to continue to come back to meeting the needs of our students," says Ricker. "And making sure that what got on the cutting room floor this spring, perhaps, gets woven into what next fall looks like, and perhaps even the fall after that."

The announcement came on the same day Minnesota recorded its 200th new coronavirus death.

The governor also said as many as 100,000 non-essential workers in certain industries could return to their job sites as early as Monday, provided they have enough safeguards in place. Those industries include industrial, manufacturing, and office settings.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


A 2022 report finds failing to speed up transmission beyond the current pace will increase 2030 U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by 800 million tons per year. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021