Minnesota State Senator Andrew Mathews (R-Big Lake) today called on Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington to immediately reinstate the liquor license for Neighbors on the Rum, a restaurant located in Princeton. Sen. Mathews issued his call after the Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement division suspended Neighbor’s liquor license for 60 days. Attorney General Keith Ellison also announced a lawsuit against Neighbors, which faces civil penalties of up to $25,000.

“I’m calling on Commissioner John Harrington to immediately reinstate the liquor license for our local restaurant, Neighbors on the Rum,” said Sen. Mathews. “They have violated no statute or ordinance, only the tyrannical Governor Walz’s Executive Order 20-99. Every day that we keep pretending that executive orders have the same force of law as statutes, and that we can punish citizens solely based on the decrees of one ruler, is an affront to our Constitutional system.” “This is not acceptable. These orders have not been passed into law by the legislature, and they are destroying the lives and livelihoods of Minnesotans. Attorney General Ellison should immediately drop his lawsuit against Neighbors and their liquor license should be reinstated. Neighbors – or any other bar or restaurant — should never be punished for trying to put food on their tables.”