As autumn neared and cold weather approached the nationâs heartland, a state that took seven months to reach 100,000 cases saw its numbers double in just 36 days.
As infections spread from the stateâs urban centers and college towns toward its rural northwoods, cases began spiking on reservations â worrying tribal leaders that they could see the devastation inflicted on the Navajo and other tribes further west.
In contrast to the rest of the state, whose partisan battles paralyzed the governmentâs response, tribal leaders used their local authority to aggressively lock down reservations, impose mask orders and curfews, and limit gatherings.