It is with heavy hearts that Sarah and Don Jirak share that their son, Shawn Douglas Jirak, 28, of Minneapolis, formerly of Sleepy Eye died on April 21, 2020, at his home.
Private Funeral Service will be held at the St. Mary's Catholic Church, Sleepy Eye, on Monday, April 27, 2020. It can be watched at www.facebook.com/stmarysleepyeye/live>
Shawn was a lover of animals, especially cats. He was a musician. Singing and playing guitar were a great joy, as well as piano and Euphonium.

Road closure alert for CH 42 from CR 17 to CR 83 will begin Monday, April 27th. Access to Minnesota Green will remain available for the duration of the project. Please see the project web page for map of location and detour.
Road closure alert for CH 42 from CR 17 to CR 83 will begin Monday, April 27th. The public will be detoured to CR 16. Closure of the entire length will be until August 2020. Dakota Parkway to CR 83 will be closed until the end of the season.
www.scottcountymn.gov/1944

Frank Huber, 86, of Montgomery, passed away Sunday, April 19, 2020, peacefully at the Northfield Hospital from a complication of pneumonia. Services and interment will be at a later date.
Frank was born in Waconia on March 6, 1934, to Oliver and Louise (Soller) Huber. He graduated from Montgomery High School in 1952, went to St. John’s University and then to Dunwoody to take up TV and Electronics.
He was united in marriage to Ruth Nickolay at St. Wenceslaus Church in New Prague on April 26, 1960, and passed away just short of their 60th anniversary.

In response to Executive Order 20-41 issued today by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz,the Minnesota State High School League, under direction of the League’s Board of Directors, has declared, effective immediately, all activities and athletics that occur during the spring season have been cancelled for the 2019-2020 school year. The decision of the League is aligned with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Minnesota Department of Health and is in support of practices that focus on community health and safety.

Governor Tim Walz, representatives of the state’s health care delivery systems, the Mayo Clinic, and the University of Minnesota (U of M) today announced a breakthrough for rapid, widespread testing of COVID-19 in Minnesota. Standing together at the State’s Emergency Operations Center, they launched a statewide testing strategy to test all symptomatic people, isolate confirmed cases, and expand public health surveillance tools.

The City of Montgomery approved a grant program on Monday to help small businesses hurt by the coronavirus outbreak.  
The plan offers $1,000 grants for qualified businesses impacted by Governor Walz’s executive orders 20-04 and 20-08. The money can be used for expenses like rent, mortgage payments, utilities, payroll, accounts payable, or other immediate operational expenses.

One of the biggest events for Titan high school students will still be held, according to TCU High School principal, Alan Fitterer.
Fitterer told sophomores, juniors and seniors over the weekend that Prom and the Post Prom event has been changed to July 18 and 19. It had been scheduled for Saturday, April 25 but was changed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Grand March will be held in the high school gym. Prom, dinner and dance will be held at the Science Museum of MN, followed by Post Prom at The Dakotah! Sport and Fitness Center in Prior Lake.

https://www.health.state.mn.us/.../coronav.../situation.html

Francis (Fritz) Barta, 91, died on April 20th, 2020 at Central Health Care in Le Center, Minnesota, his family at his side.
He was born on September 27th, 1928 to Frank and Mary Barta (Malecha) on their family farm East of Lonsdale, MN; attending and graduating from school there as well.

Everyone got bags of goodies, candy, and a wave from the Easter Bunny in the drive-thru of CornerStone State Bank on Saturday morning. The annual Easter Egg Hunt, which the bank and American Legion Club Pos 79 sponsor with many other sponors, was moved due to the coronavirus pandemic and stay at home orders. To make sure the kids and adults received toys, candy, and lunch to make at home, the bank and volunteers adjusted the hunt to be a drive-thru. After collecting the goodies behind the bank, the Easter Bunny was on hand to give waves and good wishes to everyone.

Rice County is asking for donations from residents and businesses of homemade face masks and other Personal Protection Equipment, as there is a very high need and an even greater shortage of these items.  Donations received will be distributed to all First Responder agencies throughout Rice County including Law Enforcement, Fire & Rescue, and Ambulance services.

The coronavirus pandemic emptied area churches for Easter this year. For many Christians, this religious holiday is dramatically different: a home-bound, shelter-in-place holy day. No Easter parades, no egg hunts at church, no church at all.
However, the parishioners of the Church of St. Patrick, Shieldsville were able to attend a live Easter service on Sunday - in their cars.

A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for areas along and south of a line from Springfield through New Ulm to Cottage Grove in Minnesota, continuing to New Richmond and Rice Lake in Wisconsin. Alert area: Blue Earth; Dakota; Faribault; Freeborn; Goodhue; Le Sueur; Martin; Rice; Scott; Steele; Waseca; Washington; Watonwan.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for a small swath of
counties just to the north of that line, including the Twin Cities metro area.

Mayo Clinic staff are doing extraordinary work, leading in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are proud of, and committed to, our staff and our communities as they come together to fight this global health crisis. Mayo Clinic is facing unprecedented challenges as a result of these circumstances, including a financial impact that requires significant adjustments to our operations.

Data is for cases that were tested and returned positive. Numbers are cumulative since Jan. 20, 2020. All data are preliminary and may change as cases are investigated.
Not all suspected cases of COVID-19 are tested, so this data is not representative of the total number of people in Minnesota who have or had COVID-19.
Updated April 10, 2020
Updated daily at 11 a.m., with data current as of 4 p.m. the previous day.
Dates provided are those when the case, hospitalization, or death was first posted in this situation report.