Coronavirus briefs: Gas drops below $1 in some Minnesota locations

A gallon of gas on Wednesday morning was going for less than $1 at a few Minnesota gas stations, and prices at some stations in the metro had dropped to $1.06. Analysts say the lowest gas prices in nearly two decades have been brought on as the demand for oil has dropped precipitously while lockdowns such as Minnesota's "Stay at Home" directive to combat the coronavirus pandemic has kept drivers off the roads. "This is an unprecedented event," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, the travel and navigation app that allows motorists to report gas prices. "We're experiencing one of the biggest historical collapses in gas prices, including the Great Recession of 2008." On Wednesday, GasBuddy was reporting 99-cent gas at VP Racing Fuel in Red Wing, Minn., and $1.04 at a nearby Kwik Trip. The Hi Hi Market & Gas in Lakeville had the metro area's lowest price at $1.06 a gallon, according to the app. Other stations in Lakeville, including the Kwik Trip on Kenwood Trail, posted prices at $1.09 a gallon. In Minneapolis, the cheapest gas was $1.59 a gallon at a BP station at W. 36th Street and S. Lyndale Avenue. The state average price was $1.82.

TIM HARLOW

First responders and emergency workers are urging Minnesota lawmakers to ease their ability to obtain workers' compensation should they contract COVID-19. A bill before lawmakers would encompass firefighters, paramedics, police, nurses, doctors and people providing child care to emergency responders, among several others whose jobs put them at particular risk of contracting the disease. The measure would smooth an employee's path toward obtaining workers' compensation for medical expenses and other costs related to a COVID-19 infection by shifting the burden of proof from the employee to the employer. Without the bill, employees would have to prove to employers that they contracted the disease from a specific patient while on the job. Under the bill, an infection would be presumed to be work-related, and employers seeking to deny workers' compensation would have to disprove that employees contracted the disease while working.

CHAO XIONG

St. Paul will provide emergency cash assistance for up to 1,000 families and 300 small businesses that have lost income because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to allocate $3.3 million from the Housing and Redevelopment Authority budget to the St. Paul Bridge Fund, which will provide $1,000 grants to families and $7,500 grants to businesses. Local foundations and corporations are contributing an additional $600,000. Interim Planning and Economic Development Director Kristin Guild told council members that city estimates show up to 1,000 businesses and about 8,000 families will qualify for the grants. "We know that this bridge fund will not meet all of the needs," she said, "but we've designed the program to balance serving as many as we possibly can with a meaningful amount." Applications are expected to open April 8 and close April 19. Recipients will be chosen through a lottery, she said, and funds will be disbursed in late April or early May.