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After the City of Austin laid out its plans for redistricting, the County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday set a hearing date for its plans.

During its Tuesday meeting, commissioners agreed to hold a 1:30 p.m. hearing at on April 5, in the board chambers at the Government Center during its regular meeting. The county has a deadline of April 29 to finalize its plans.

COVID-19

Like the rest of the state, the latest surge of COVID-19 in the county has abated drastically.

According to Health and Human Services Director Crystal Peterson, both hospitalizations and case numbers are down substantially in the county.

As of last Friday, Mower County had been downgraded from high transmission to medium transmission.

Peterson also reported to the board that the Minnesota Children’s Hospital has been wanting to dispatch a bus to Austin to try and reach those populations with low vaccination rates including the Hispanic population and low income housing.

However, Peterson added that they were still assessing the need for such a move.

As of Friday, there were 11,768 cumulative cases in Mower County, with 70 deaths.