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Minnesota on Wednesday joined a growing list of U.S. states mandating COVID-19 vaccines or testing for state employees in an effort to fight the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant. 

What they're saying: "Vaccination is the best way to keep employees and the people we serve safe and ensure the Delta variant does not derail our economic recovery," Gov. Tim Walz (D) said in a statement announcing the mandate.

"With this action, we’re joining businesses and colleges across the state who have taken this important step, and I urge other employers to do the same."

State agency employees who are not vaccinated will need to test negative for the virus weekly in order to work in the office, Walz said.

Other states that have announced mandates:

California has required vaccines or regular testing for state employees, including teachers and other school staff. 

"We think this is the right thing to do," Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said at a press conference. 

Washington is instituting a vaccine mandate for most state employees and healthcare workers.

"We have a duty to protect them from the virus, they have the right to be protected, and the communities they serve and live in deserve protection as well," Gov. Jay Inslee (D).

New York is mandating vaccines or regular testing for state workers starting on Labor Day.

"It’s smart, it’s fair and it’s in everyone’s interest," Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said, per the Independent. 

Illinois is requiring state workers in high-contact settings to get vaccinated by Oct. 4. This would apply to employees who work in state prisons, veterans' homes and care facilities, among others.

"We must all take immediate and urgent action to slow the spread of the Delta variant," Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said, per NBC Chicago. "People are dying who don't have to die."

North Carolina requires unvaccinated state staff wear a mask and be tested at least once a week. "There is only one way out of this pandemic and that is vaccination," said Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen after Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced the measure on July 29.

Our trends are accelerating at an alarmingly fast rate and the highest rates of viral spread are happening in areas with low vaccination rates and among those who are not fully vaccinated," Cohen added.

The big picture: President Biden has also mandated vaccines or regular testing for federal employees and military members.

A growing list of corporate players is implementing similar policies.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect Minnesota's testing option for nonvaccinated state workers and with details of N.C.'s measures.

Minnesota latest state to mandate vaccines or tests for state workers

"I urge other employers to do the same," Gov. Tim Walz (D) said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D). Photo: Scott Olson via Getty Images

Coronavirus vaccines

Public health

Coronavirus

Minnesota on Wednesday joined a growing list of U.S. states mandating COVID-19 vaccines or testing for state employees in an effort to fight the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant. What they&#x27;re saying: &quot;Vaccination is the best way to keep employees and the people we serve safe and ensure the Delta variant does not derail our economic recovery,&quot; Gov. Tim Walz (D) said in a statement announcing the mandate.

COVID

Minneapolis voters will be able to weigh in on the city's police department on the local ballot, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Why it matters: The proposed charter amendment was spurred by mass protests against police brutality after George Floyd's death last year. It would replace the city's police department with a new Department of Public Safety that "could include" police officers "if necessary."

The ballot language, which was approved by the City Council, would strike out a requirement that Minneapolis maintains a police department with a minimum staffing level.

The specifics of the new safety agency's operations would be left up to the City Council and the mayor.

State of play: A lower court ruled last week that the wording — approved just in time to make it on the ballot — failed to adequately describe the effects of the proposed amendment.

But the state's supreme court concluded that the challenge to the language — filed by private residents — did not meet the "high standard" set in legal precedents, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote in the three-page order.

With early and absentee voting opening at 8am Friday, the court was under pressure to act quickly and said it would release a full opinion later so voting in the municipal elections can get underway.

Lawyers on both sides had agreed the high court's ruling would be the final word given the countdown to Friday, AP reports. 

What they're saying: "Lawsuits brought forward by Minneapolis residents who have personal, financial, and political ties to Mayor Jacob Frey were clearly never about the ballot language — they were about trying to steal our right to vote on question 2," the TakeAction Minnesota coalition, which helped spearhead the initiative, said in a statement following the ruling.

"In Minneapolis, we know the power of our multiracial democracy, and believe in a unified path forward."

"This is the right call," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement. "The charter amendment itself is fundamentally bad policy. But ... Minneapolis residents deserve the opportunity to weigh in this fall and bring this debate to a close so we can move forward with clarity for our residents' safety."

The big picture: Minneapolis is one of several cities reimagining policing after global Black Lives Matter protests.

State supreme court approves ballot question on Minneapolis police

The contested amendment would replace the city's police department with a public safety agency.

Photo of a memorial site outside a Cup Foods store, with a large portrait of George Floyd propped up in the center

A memorial to George Floyd outside the Cup Foods corner store where he died last March. Photo: Nicholas Pfosi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Minneapolis

Race and Equity

Minneapolis voters will be able to weigh in on the city&#x27;s police department on the local ballot, the Minnesota Supreme Court <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="ruled Thursday" data-vars-click-url="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21063502-samuels-v-minneapolis-order" data-vars-content-id="8fdda3e6-35da-4ae0-aa9a-8897dbb521b4" data-vars-headline="State supreme court approves ballot question on Minneapolis police" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21063502-samuels-v-minneapolis-order" target="_blank">ruled Thursday</a>.Why it matters: The proposed charter amendment was spurred by mass protests against police brutality after <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="George Floyd&#x27;s death last year" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/george-floyd-protests-minneapolis-2272d652-c4e7-482e-ae37-095015906b19.html" data-vars-content-id="8fdda3e6-35da-4ae0-aa9a-8897dbb521b4" data-vars-headline="State supreme court approves ballot question on Minneapolis police" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/george-floyd-protests-minneapolis-2272d652-c4e7-482e-ae37-095015906b19.html" target="_self">George Floyd&#x27;s death last year</a>. It would replace the city&#x27;s police department with a new Department of Public Safety that &quot;could include&quot; police officers &quot;if necessary.&quot;

Politics

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

The truck driver who drove through a large crowd protesting George Floyd's death last year will have his criminal charges dropped if he is law-abiding for the next year, AP reports. 

Catch up quick: Authorities had closed off the highway area as a precaution, but video footage showed Bogdan Vechirko honking and driving his tanker rig through the protest, which numbered in the hundreds.

Vechirko's actions caused at least one person to suffer abrasions as she tried to jump out of the way, per the criminal complaint. No one was seriously injured, though numerous people told investigators they thought they were going to be struck or killed.

He was charged with one felony count of making threats of violence and one gross misdemeanor count of criminal vehicular operation.

The state of play: Prosecutors allege that Vechirko was in a rush returning from a fuel delivery in Minneapolis and meant to "scare protesters."

He has entered a "continuance without prosecution" agreement with Hennepin County prosecutors, which will require him to stay law-abiding for a year, pay restitution and attend three sentencing circles.

Trucker who drove into George Floyd protest may have charges dropped

Numerous people told investigators they thought they were going to be struck or killed.

Photo of protesters holding a banner that says "I can't breathe" as they walk on a street 

Photo: Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

George Floyd

The truck driver who drove through a large crowd protesting George Floyd&#x27;s death last year will have his criminal charges dropped if he is law-abiding for the next year, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="AP reports" data-vars-click-url="https://apnews.com/article/mn-state-wire-george-floyd-death-of-george-floyd-business-228869c084923cae2297b1ed9d4bb8a2" data-vars-content-id="9bd9f052-b21a-4432-a5bf-e0cde22c52bb" data-vars-headline="Trucker who drove into George Floyd protest may have charges dropped" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://apnews.com/article/mn-state-wire-george-floyd-death-of-george-floyd-business-228869c084923cae2297b1ed9d4bb8a2" target="_blank">AP reports</a>. Catch up quick: Authorities had closed off the highway area as a precaution, but <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="video footage" data-vars-click-url="https://www.startribune.com/charges-to-be-dismissed-against-trucker-who-drove-into-george-floyd-protest-on-35w-bridge/600069655/" data-vars-content-id="9bd9f052-b21a-4432-a5bf-e0cde22c52bb" data-vars-headline="Trucker who drove into George Floyd protest may have charges dropped" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.startribune.com/charges-to-be-dismissed-against-trucker-who-drove-into-george-floyd-protest-on-35w-bridge/600069655/" target="_blank">video footage</a> showed Bogdan Vechirko honking and driving his tanker rig through the protest, which numbered in the hundreds.

Shawna Chen

Featured stories

State supreme court approves ballot question on Minneapolis police

Minnesota latest state to mandate vaccines or tests for state workers

Trucker who drove into George Floyd protest may have charges dropped