At Issue: July 5 — Senate turns attention to damage after Floyd’s death, Minnesota reaches ‘moon shot’ testing goal

Minnesota’s lawmakers have turned their attention to the fallout from George Floyd’s death, but it’s a divided attention.

This week on “At Issue,” the Republican-controlled Minnesota Senate started the first of a few hearings centered on the unrest and destruction that followed Floyd’s death — while majority DFLers in the House are focused on police accountability.

Minnesota Senate GOP spotlights damage after Floyd’s death

Meanwhile, there are questions surrounding the Walz administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The state purchased an old warehouse for more than $5 million in case the number of COVID-19 deaths overwhelmed facilities in Minnesota, but death rates seem to be declining.

The state has officially hit what Gov. Tim Walz called the “moon shot” for testing — the ability to complete 20,000 tests each day. It comes as public health officials from Washington, D.C. to St. Paul emphasize a need for face coverings and school district leaders plead with Minnesota lawmakers to help an education system currently flipped sideways by the pandemic.

Plus, our political analysts discuss the likelihood of another special session and what it might take to get work done on some of the issues hanging over Minnesota: police and criminal justice reform, COVID-19 and a bonding bill.