The pandemic has pushed Minnesota mothers out of the workforce in large numbers and, unlike fathers, they have yet to return, according to a new analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

• Workforce participation among the state's moms of young kids dropped 11 percentage points in the three months ending in November compared with the same period in 2019, the Fed's researchers found, a higher rate than in neighboring states.

The big picture: This new research confirms that working moms in Minnesota and beyond are being hit especially hard by the pandemic.

• The National Women's Law Center estimates that women across the country have lost a combined 5.4 million jobs since the start of the crisis.
• Here in Minnesota, unemployment benefit requests from women outpaced those from men throughout much of the last year.

Yes, but: Economists warn that uncertainty in the pandemic labor market and small sample sizes make it difficult to decipher the full impact on women.

• Another data set from the Department of Employment and Economic Development shows women's overall workforce participation in Minnesota growing between February and November.

Why it matters: Experts worry the uneven toll could undo years of progress toward pay parity and representation, including at the highest levels of leadership.

• "It will set all those positive movements back," Minneapolis Fed outreach director Ron Wirtz told us, also noting that it generally takes longer to find a job than to lose a job.

Driving the trend: Caregiving responsibilities, including distance-learning supervision, and job cuts in female-dominated sectors, such as the hospitality industry.

• Mothers of young children are more likely than men to report that care responsibilities continue to keep them out of the labor force, according to the Fed.

What they're saying: Half of the surveyed members of The Coven, a Twin Cities co-working space and community for women, nonbinary and trans people, said they were doing less paid work but more unpaid labor at home.

• "[They] are struggling to keep up with the amount of work that is required of parents who are now expected to be teachers," co-founder Alex West Steinman told Axios.

The bottom line: A lack of available child care, including schooling options, is a big issue and one that "will affect how quickly labor markets and the economy recover" post-pandemic, the Fed notes.

Minnesota gun sales spiked in January, as retailers reported running twice as many background checks as they did the same month last year.

By the numbers: The National Shooting Sports Foundation tallied more than 37,600 statewide requests to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in January — nearly double from 18,990 in January 2020.

• It wasn't just January: More than 380,000 background checks were recorded here in 2020, up 49% from the previous year.
• While gun sales often increase in election years, retailers reported a sudden surge last March, when the state's stay-home order took effect.

Driving the trend: The latest increase came amid a month of political unrest, including the Jan. 6. insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

• NSSF spokesperson Mark Oliva argued the "blistering pace" of purchases might also reflect concerns about new gun laws passing under the Biden administration.

Of note: Oliva said NSSF's surveys show 40% of in-store buyers nationwide in 2020 were purchasing a firearm for the first time. Some of the biggest gains were among women and Black customers, he said.

A local college student says he used proceeds from GameStop's surging stock prices to donate gaming consoles to young patients at Children’s Minnesota Hospital.

What he's saying: "As a beneficiary of the recent events on Wall Street I think it is important that myself and others pay forward our good fortune," Hunter Kahn wrote on his Instagram.

• Fox9 has the full story.

Fundraising totals from 2020 are in for candidates running in Minneapolis races for 2021. Here are some highlights:

Mayor: Incumbent Jacob Frey raised $84,295 and has $233,779 cash on hand. One challenger, community organizer Sheila Nezhad, brought in $5,096.

• The bottom line: The large mayoral fields of previous Minneapolis elections have not yet materialized.

Ward 10: Community organizer Aisha Chughtai and engineer Katie Jones have each raised nearly $22,000 and Alicia Gibson raised close to $10,000. Chris Parsons, David Wheeler and Steven J. Frich raised less than $5,000 each.

• The bottom line: Competition for outgoing council president Lisa Bender’s Uptown-area seat is hot.

Ward 7: Nick Kor raised $32,772 in his bid to unseat council member Lisa Goodman. Goodman only raised $1,500, but has $143,000 cash on hand.

• The bottom line: Kor will need the cash; Goodman has represented downtown for 23 years and has the largest war chest of any City Council candidate.

Go deeper: Adam Arling collected fundraising totals for all city races and posted them here.

An Al Franken sighting at a Manhattan grocery store served as the basis for a breathless New York Post headline suggesting the former U.S. senator from Minnesota might run for NYC mayor.

Reality check: Not happening, a spokesperson told Axios:

• “Sen. Franken doesn’t have plans to run for elected office. His current focus is the Al Franken Podcast and playing in the snow with his NYC grandchildren.” 

Three people who were arrested by former MPD officer Derek Chauvin years before George Floyd shared their stories of the encounters with The Marshall Project and the New York Times.

What they're saying: “He just stayed on my neck," said Zoya Code, who says she was handcuffed face down during a domestic dispute call in 2017.

• Go deeper.

More: Video obtained by the Star Tribune shows three of the officers implicated in Floyd's death, including Chauvin, using aggressive tactics to restrain a Black man just weeks before May 25, the day Floyd died in police custody.

Sooki + Mimi, the new restaurant from award-winning local chef Ann Kim, opens for business today.

• On the menu: A 10-course "celebration of vegetables and nixtamal." Bar seats for cocktails only are also available.

🥃 Up next: Brother Justus Whiskey Co., a cocktail room in Northeast, will open for limited service on Friday, per the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

@brenface asks a great question.

Nick's choice: The lounge at Mancini's in St. Paul, where seniors are dancing to 1960s cover bands as people drink martinis in big leather booths.

• Weigh in: What's your favorite place for a little nostalgia?