Daily Digest for May 14, 2020 Posted at 6:35 a.m. by Cody Nelson
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Good morning and welcome to a big news day on Capitol View.
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Gov. Tim Walz is letting the stay-home order expire Sunday night. Come Monday, retail businesses will be allowed to reopen with limited capacity and group gatherings of 10 or fewer people, including at places of worship, will be permitted once again.
Restaurants, bars and the like will stay closed or takeout only. However, Walz said he’s instructed his agencies to assemble a plan over the next week for a "limited and safe" reopening of bars, restaurants and other places of public accommodation June 1.
When they do come back, those establishments are likely to face capacity limits. Walz also said he signed an executive order ensuring that people can raise safety concerns about their workplaces without discrimination or retaliation.
After a speech to the state, Walz conceded to reporters that his moves were something of a gamble on human behavior. And a gamble on the virus not spreading too aggressively. “This is either going to work or not work,” Walz said. “ People are either going to stay out of the hospital or get in it."
Republicans seemed pleased with the DFL governor, however. "We're moving in the right direction," was a rare praise on Walz's decision-making from Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka. "The Governor listened to everyday Minnesotans and responded to our recommendations and is beginning to reopen the state," he tweeted.
Small businesses could have more coronavirus aid coming their way. Brian Bakst reports: "More than 5,700 small businesses could qualify for state grants under a bill that the state Senate passed Tuesday. The proposal would award up to $10,000 each to businesses that experienced hardship from COVID-19 disruptions. The money is reserved for Minnesota-based companies with 50 or fewer employees. Most of the $60 million would come out of federal coronavirus relief payments to the state. Sen. Paul Anderson, R-Plymouth, said the grants could be a lifeline for some companies."
“A group of older Minnesota voters is suing the secretary of state over concerns that the state’s absentee voting rules could put their vote — and their health — at risk this year." Star Tribune reporter Stephen Montemoyer writes, "The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court by the Minnesota Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund, looks to stop the state from enforcing that requirement and also to adopt a postmark deadline on mail-in ballots.”
And we'll close on some non-coronavirus news ... The Washington Post reports that Amy Klobuchar is one of two frontrunners, along with Kamala Harris, to be Joe Biden's vice presidential pick: " Although Biden’s search is just getting underway in earnest and there are no strong internal front-runners, according to a person familiar with the campaign’s selection process, many Biden friends, donors and other associates have privately and publicly expressed a preference for the two senators. And they said much of the talk around the campaign focuses on them." |
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