Minnesota is now in peak tree pollen season. If you feel like your allergies have gotten worse in recent years, you are not alone. Studies have linked warming temperatures to longer and more intense pollen seasons in the U.S. And in greenhouse studies, higher concentrations of carbon dioxide have also been found to lead to more pollen production. 

Indeed, according to a quick analysis of local data, higher temperatures in March and April do correlate with the tree pollen season starting sooner right here in Minnesota.  

Between 1993 and 2020, the years for which data is available, the earliest the tree pollen season began was March 12. That was in 2016 when the average low temperature in March and April was 36 degrees — around five degrees above average.  

The latest date a tree pollen season started was nearly seven weeks later on April 29. The average low temperature in March and April that year, 2013, was around 26 degrees — about five degrees below average.   

Making matters worse for allergy sufferers, at least according to national studies, pollen season is both starting earlier and lasting longer. Locally, average low temperatures in March and April increased by around three degrees from 1993 to 2020.

While the length of the tree pollen season varied considerably over that same period, from 28 days in 2018 to 113 days in 2011, the overall trajectory according to our analysis was an increase of five days over the 26 years. 

Notably, the earlier onset of warmer temperatures isn’t the only factor affecting plant growth and pollen season length. Precipitation as well as temperature changes after pollen season begins can also impact the season’s length. 

Local tree pollen data has not been available for the past few years, according to reporting from KSTP. Pollen forecasts available through many weather apps are modeled from weather and climate data.

But we do know that, so far, this spring is off to a relatively warm start, with an average daily low temperature in March and April of 34 degrees (three degrees above the recent average).  

Looking at years with similar average low temperatures in the past, we might predict that tree pollen season started sometime during the first couple weeks of April.

Unfortunately for allergy sufferers, it will probably continue for at least a couple more weeks. The earliest that tree pollen season has ended in the past quarter-century was May 14 in 1998. That year, grass pollen season started one week later.   

Influenza drops decisively, RSV remains low 

Influenza hospitalizations in Minnesota dropped again in the most recent weeks’ worth of data, closing any suspicions that the state’s lingering flu season might never come to an end.

The Minnesota Department of Health’s latest data show that hospital admission rates due to the flu are not as low as they are for respiratory syncytial virus, but they appear headed in that direction. 

U.S. COVID-19 Hospitalizations reach lowest numbers since pandemic’s start 

The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy’s latest “Osterholm Update” podcast reports that U.S. hospitalizations for COVID-19 are now at the lowest point in the pandemic, even lower than last summer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is no longer requiring hospitals to report COVID-19 admissions as of May 1.  

Ending the reporting requirement may further cloud our ability to detect possible future changes in COVID-19 activity. For example, new COVID-19 variants are once again on the rise, with the recently dominant JN.1 now giving way to so-called “FLiRT” variants such as KP.2 and KP1.1.

It is unclear whether these newer strains, which the CDC now estimates as comprising one-third of the COVID-19 in circulation nationally, will result in an uptick in hospitalizations. But the new reporting rule will make it more difficult to tell.  

We asked officials at the Minnesota Department of Health whether that change would impact COVID tracking here, and they indicated “we will continue to receive and report the information on our website related to [COVID-19] Hospitalization Trends, Hospitalization Rate by County of Residence, and Demographics (Age Groups, Sex, Race/Ethnicity).

What will discontinue is data on hospital capacity (currently COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Overall Beds Available and Beds Available Over Time).” 

Wastewater monitoring remains another important source of COVID-19 monitoring, and the latest data out of the University of Minnesota’s on-going Wastewater Surveillance Study shows more good news: COVID-19 levels are down statewide over the most recent week, including drops in all seven of the study’s regions.  

Measles: Continued global and U.S. spread, but nothing new here in Minnesota 

The Minnesota Department of Health has not reported any new cases of measles in the state since the third case this year was reported back in February. 

Nationally, however, the CDC is reporting seven new cases of the highly infectious disease over the past two weeks, bringing the yearly total to 128. This already makes 2024 the highest year of U.S. measles infection since 2019, when 1,274 cases were identified over the whole year.  

As reported by NPR, measles cases are up worldwide, “from more than 170,000 cases in 2022 to more than 320,000 cases in 2023, according to WHO’s [the World Health Organization’s] count.” Through November 2023, the lasted data reported by WHO, 51 countries were reporting officially defined “large or disruptive” measles outbreaks, roughly triple the number of countries reporting such outbreaks in 2020, and about double the number of nations reporting such outbreaks through most of 2021. 

Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Minnesota rose last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to 3,132 in the week ending April 27, up from 3,036 the week before, the Labor Department said.

U.S. unemployment claims remained the same at 208,000 last week on a seasonally adjusted basis.

New Hampshire saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims, with claims jumping by 103.7%. Rhode Island, meanwhile, saw the largest percentage drop in new claims, with claims dropping by 65.3%.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment insurance claims report. 

A Minnesota ice cream shop worker was allegedly fired after a customer tipped $100 in the tip jar as the store’s owners seemingly accused her of taking advantage of an elderly customer with “dementia.”

Seth and Lisa Swenson claim their adult daughter Emily, a five-season employee at The Freez in Moorhead, Minn., was canned after the tipping debacle at the roadside eatery last month.

Emily had finished serving a customer when the patron tried to leave the large bill behind even though the worker said she couldn’t accept it, according to the family’s Facebook post.

“Our daughter was offered a $100 tip and told the customer she couldn’t accept it. The customer put $100 in the tip jar and drove away,” the couple said.

At the end of the worker’s shift, the management at The Freez was furious with Emily and allegedly accused her of “taking” the large tip.

Two days later, on April 24, the business submitted an “Employee Warning Notice Form” to Emily for “corrective action.”

“Emily needs to understand that some of our customers are elderly and could be dealing with dementia or other illnesses that make it hard for them to understand their actions,” the shop said in the notice.

“No one in their right frame of mind tips $100 at a place where every menu item is under $12,” the notice shared by the Swensons continued.

Ironically, the ice cream shop was concerned about its public image within their community if word got out that their employee accepted such a large gratuity.

“As an employee of The Freez, it is your responsibility to protect the reputation of the establishment. If the customer is dealing with issues and the family finds out that she was allowed to put $100 in the tip jar, The Freez will be looked down on as a place that takes advantage of the elderly. Looking out for our customers should take priority over the opportunity to get a tip.”

Emily was fired a day later and her family claimed the generous gratuity was against the Moorhead Freez policy to accept bills over $20 as payment.

“There is nothing in the policy about tip amounts,” the Swenson’s argued.

The store fired back the family’s social media post a day later, claiming Emily wasn’t dismissed over the tip and contradicting the warning notice they had handed out days earlier.

“We did not terminate the adult at-will employee of 5 years for accepting a tip. There’s more to the story,” the shop said in a Facebook post.

It was not clear how old Emily is, but the roadside ice cream stand took exception to her parents sticking up for their “adult daughter.”

“We won’t go into details, it’s a personal matter. However, we believe that if parents are posting for an adult child- they haven’t asked the right questions of their adult daughter,” the store said.

“We are a small business built on a strong work ethic and Moorhead values. Our values and expectations reflect those of the community and our customers,” the post continued. “Ice cream makes people happy. Social media bullying- not so much.”

Emily doesn’t fault the customer for the firing, the family shared.

“Our daughter appreciates the generosity of the lady who tipped her and feels that this kind lady is no way responsible for what happened,” the couple said.

In February, a Michigan cafe server was fired after she split a $10,000 tip with her fellow front-of-house workers, upsetting the kitchen staff that they didn’t get a share of the large gift.

Linsey Huff — who also goes by the last name Boyd — collected the enormous gratuity off a $32.43 bill from a customer at the Mason Jar Cafe in Benton Harbor while he was in the area for a friend’s funeral.

The anonymous man, who left the now-viral tip in honor of his late friend, had requested the $10,000 be split among the service staff, as eight servers walked away with approximately $1,200 each.

The disgruntled back-of-house staffers had become angry with Huff for not getting a piece of the nearly 31,000% tip, and drama soon unfolded, causing problems within the staff.