The Early Vote Center at 980 E. Hennepin Ave. is now open for voters who wish to cast their ballot early and in person. Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services has begun mailing ballots to voters who have requested to vote early by mail.

Early voting is easy

• In-person early voting is convenient. Any voter can vote early; no reason is needed. It especially helps voters who need special accommodations when voting by allowing for extra time, attention and onsite resources than polling places might have on a busy Election Day. Learn how to vote early in-person.
• You can also vote early by mail. Please allow enough time to complete the process by mail; it can take longer than seven days depending on where your ballot is sent. You can find mail ballot applications on the City website and submit your ballot any time before an election.

Plan ahead and save time

• Make sure you’re registered to vote. Voters can register or check the status of their registration online. Register to vote before the Oct. 18 pre-registration deadline to save time when voting. Voters who need to register or update their existing registration should plan to bring proof of residence when they vote.
• Look at a sample ballot ahead of time; even bring it to refer to when you go to vote in person. As of Sept. 24, you can find sample ballots for all 137 Minneapolis precincts on the City website.

Find out which offices are on the ballot for this election at vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters/ballot.

Confirm your polling place location

Many Minneapolis voters have a new polling place because of the redistricting process. On Election Day, Nov. 8, anyone who hasn’t voted early can only vote at their assigned polling place. All polling places are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Find your polling place at pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us.

Find more information about voting in Minneapolis at vote.minneapolismn.gov.

Crews are preparing to sweep streets across Minneapolis in October and November. Fall street sweeping cleans the streets from curb to curb before winter to keep leaves and debris out of the storm drains. This keeps them from ending up in our lakes and rivers as much as possible. Minneapolis Public Works will begin the big task of curb-to-curb sweeping throughout the city Tuesday, Oct. 18.

During the four weeks of the comprehensive fall street sweep, crews will clean about 1,000 miles of city streets.

To make sure they can do the best job possible, crews will post temporary “No Parking” signs at least 24 hours in advance so streets will be clear of cars when they’re swept. The first signs will be posted Monday, Oct. 17, and sweeping will begin the next day. Anyone who parks on the street will need to follow posted parking rules or their cars may be ticketed and towed.

Stay informed about the parking rules

• “No Parking” signs: City crews will post “No Parking” signs at least 24 hours before sweeping any streets. Parking will be banned from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the day a street is swept. The “No Parking” signs will be removed as soon as possible after a street has been completely swept to allow people to resume parking after the signs are removed. The sweeping takes several steps, so don’t park until the signs are removed. Vehicles not in compliance with “No Parking” signs may be ticketed and towed to the Minneapolis Impound Lot.
• Social media: The City will use Facebook and Twitter to post periodic street sweeping updates and information.
• Phone calls to residents: In addition to the “No Parking” signs posted the day before sweepers come through, the City will make about 3,000 automated phone calls each evening to let residents know their street will be swept the next day. There’s no guarantee that the calls will reach everyone, so be sure to check the various ways to be aware of the rules, and watch for signs.
• Interactive map: The street sweeping schedule map will be available on the City’s website Oct. 7. You can zoom in or look up your address to find out which week your street is scheduled to be swept. Then, on the weekend before each of the four weeks, the schedule for the upcoming week will be broken down to show which day each street is scheduled to be swept.
• Videos: Street sweeping is explained in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong on the City’s YouTube channel and on Minneapolis City TV.

Yard waste pickup has returned to a weekly schedule for all City of Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling customers, and the yard waste collection season has been extended through the end of November going forward to accommodate late-dropping leaves. City customers’ garbage day the week of Nov. 28-Dec. 2 will be their last 2022 pickup of leaves, brush and other yard trimmings. There will be no additional 2022 yard waste service after the last scheduled pickup.

Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling customers can set properly prepared yard waste at their alleys or curbs next to their garbage carts by 6 a.m. on garbage day. Set yard waste out in a reusable container, in compostable bags (paper or BPI-certified compostable plastic – look for the BPI logo) or bundled with string or twine (no wire or tape).

Other requirements

• Reusable containers must be 32-38 gallons in size and at least 26 inches high with sturdy handles. Reusable containers are lifted and emptied by hand; they must be easily managed. Yard waste is not allowed in City-provided containers.
• Any container, bag or bundle must weigh less than 40 pounds.
• Branches must be less than 3 inches in diameter and cut to less than 3 feet or shorter.

Bags marked “biodegradable” or “degradable” do not meet the State law and are not accepted.

Nobody should rake leaves into the street. It’s against the law and bad for our lakes, creeks and river.

For questions about leaf and brush pickup, customers can check the City website or call Solid Waste & Recycling at 612-673-2917 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.

The Minnesota Department of Health urges parents to make sure their children are up to date on immunizations including the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. The State is working with local public health agencies and health care providers to investigate 13 cases of measles in the Twin Cities that occurred among unvaccinated children. Seven of the children were hospitalized. This is up from one to four cases in the state in a typical year. Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but it’s still common in other parts of the world.

The MMR vaccine is safe and highly effective against measles. State health experts say that the measles virus is very successful at finding people who are unvaccinated, and that measles can be a very serious disease, causing hospitalizations and sometimes death. It takes just one case of travel-associated measles passing to someone who’s not vaccinated to start an outbreak in a community that has lower vaccination rates. Minnesota saw a 3% drop in school-age immunizations during the pandemic largely because of people not getting routine well-child-care visits.

Measles spreads easily through coughing, talking or being in the same room with someone who has measles. Initial symptoms of measles include a high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes followed by a rash that typically spreads from the head to the rest of the body. If you or your child has symptoms of measles, call your doctor or clinic and they will let you know if you need to come in for a visit.

The Minnesota Department of Health encourages people to check their records to confirm that they and their children have received the MMR vaccine. Minnesotans can request their vaccination records by visiting Find My Immunization Record.

Find information about free or low-cost vaccinations on the Minnesota Department of Health website.

For more information, visit the Minnesota Department of Health website.

Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox (MPX) virus. The monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses as smallpox and cowpox. Monkeypox symptoms often include a rash that can look like pimples or blisters.

Symptoms 

Someone with monkeypox may have a rash or sores, or may have only one sore, bump or blister. This can look different from pictures you see online. A rash or sores can occur anywhere on the body. Other symptoms can include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, headache, tiredness, fatigue, body aches (including muscle aches and backaches), sore throat, nasal congestion or cough.

See what a monkeypox rash can look like on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

How Monkeypox (MPX) spreads

• Mostly spreads through skin-to-skin contact including:
• Sex.
• Hugging, kissing and cuddling.
• Can be spread as soon as symptoms start. It can spread until the rash has fully healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed. This can take several weeks.
• Is not a sexually transmitted disease.
• Can be spread to all people, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
• Has an increased risk for spreading at a rave, party or club where there is minimal clothing and where there is direct, personal skin-to-skin contact.
• Is possible to be spread, although it is less likely, by items that have been in contact with a monkeypox rash such as:
• Unwashed linens or clothing.
• Other surfaces.

Reduce your risk

Monkeypox can spread to all people. When around someone with monkeypox or someone who may have monkeypox:

• Do not touch their rash or scabs. Avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with people who have a rash that looks like monkeypox.
• Avoid kissing or having sex with them.
• Avoid sharing eating utensils or cups with them.
• Avoid touching their bedding, towels or clothes.
• Use gloves and a mask when doing laundry and disinfecting their spaces. Use disinfectant and laundry detergent to kill the virus.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Find more information about the virus, testing, vaccine, treatment and resources on the City website.

COVID-19 Information

Minnesotans who have previously ordered the full limit of eight tests from the State’s online COVID-19 test program can now receive four more tests per household on the State of Minnesota website. Minnesotans can also place orders through the Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 public hotline at 1-833-431-2053 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays. Language assistance is available.

Testing and COVID-19 medications

If you are at a high risk and develop symptoms that could be COVID-19, get tested right away. Prescription medication is available to help prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death. Talk to a health care provider to learn if you qualify for COVID-19 treatment and where to get it. Learn more about COVID-19 medication at COVID-19 treatments.

The federal government has a Test to Treat locator to help find participating sites. There, you can take a COVID-19 test and, if positive, be assessed by a provider onsite. If you are eligible for treatment, you can receive and fill a prescription for pills at the same time. Some of these sites require appointments. Learn more at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Test to Treat site.

Other ways to get a COVID-19 test

• COVID-19 community testing sites across Minnesota are continuing to offer free COVID-19 tests to all. A number of these sites provide onsite nasal rapid testing, a helpful tool for younger children where saliva testing may be more challenging.
• You can use Minnesota’s Find Testing Locations webpage to find COVID-19 testing at local pharmacies, hospitals and clinics near you.
• Food banks, local public health agencies, community groups and other community health organizations may also have free tests available.

Find up-to-date guidance on when to get tested on the Minnesota Department of Health website.