Senate Republicans share ideas from small businesses ready to safely open

Senate Republicans share ideas from small businesses ready to safely open

(ST. PAUL, MN) –  Senate Republicans shared ideas from small businesses and churches to safely reopen as Minnesota enters the third month with stay at home orders. Despite billions in federal stimulus dollars being pumped into the state, nearly 600,000 Minnesotans have filed for unemployment and thousands of small and local businesses and churches have closed their doors to the public. Some of them for good.

“People are scared, frustrated, anxious, impatient, tired, stressed, and hopeless. They are counting on us to get this right,” said Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-East Gull Lake). “I want everyone one to understand their efforts at social distancing have pushed the peak out. We have enough PPE for our frontline workers, we have enough ICU beds to handle the surge, and we have the daily testing capacity to handle hotspots. We’re ready.”

Speakers at the press conference included a salon owner, restaurant and bar owners, and the pastor of a small church. They shared the various efforts they’ve made to re-open following CDC guidelines. They also shared what might happen if the business closures remain in place any longer than planned.

“All of us can empathize with the businesses that still haven’t been allowed to open. But empathy is not enough. Taking out government loans that need to be repaid is not enough. Extended unemployment benefits are not enough,” said Eric Pratt (R- Prior Lake) Chair of the Senate Committee on Jobs and Economic Growth. “These small, local businesses can open to the public in a manner that is probably safer than many big box stores are doing right now. We owe it to these entrepreneurs to show us how they can safely and slowly reopen, and work with them to get it right. It’s time we flatten the curve for the economic crisis while we continue to flatten the curve on the healthcare crisis. We can do both.”

Gazelka also announced the formation of a Senate taskforce dedicated to economic recovery from COVID-19. “The virus is real, and should not be taken lightly, but the damage to our livelihood is also real and must not be taken lightly either,” said Gazelka. “We have to have the courage to safely open more businesses and our places of worship as we continue to be vigilant against this virus.”

The purpose of the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Taskforce (CERT) is to safely and efficiently reopen Minnesota’s economy in accordance with the state and federal public health guidelines. Chaired by Minnesota businessman Mike Vekich, CERT membership will include Senators from both caucuses, representatives from private businesses, health care, trade unions, higher education, local government, and the financial industry.

Here’s what was said by the speakers at the press conference:

Matt Winter, owner of Plate Restaurant in Prior Lake: We want to lead, we can do this safely. Health is important, but health is more than life or death, it’s mental health. We believe restaurants can play a part by being a gathering for celebrations, for sad times, for the well-being of each other.  

Prior Lake community leaders have published their list of community protocols in two letters to Governor Walz:

Rory Martin, Pastor at Liberty Baptist Church in Eden Prairie: The church demands life touching life. But we now find ourselves in a conundrum. We desire to honor our God, and our Government and Governor. We think we can do both. But we have no idea how to get a plan approved, to whom to submit it, or if anyone needs to or will consider it. The church needs to gather, we are more the church when we gather than at any other time. Please, Governor Walz, help us by providing clear ways for plans to be approved and for us to meet.

Ray Herrington, owner of several bars and restaurants and a live theater in St. Cloud: There are a lot of unemployed musicians scratching their heads. We set out on this journey a month ago to flatten the curve and it’s time we move on. There a good chance that if we’re doing something wrong, we’ll hear about it, not just from government, but from customers.

Andrew Hulse, Elk River, owner of 18/8 Fine Men’s Salons in Maple Grove and Wayzata: A pandemic was not part of our business plan. Our employees are our family and I’m not going to do anything to put them at risk. I keep hearing salons can’t be a controlled environment and I don’t believe. Most of what we do every day is infection control, stylists are trained and licensed in infection control and receive ongoing instruction in infection control.

Read the press release online

Watch the press conference on Facebook