Today, Governor Walz announced that the ‘Stay at Home’ Executive Order will extend from April 10th to May 4th. The Governor cites federal guidelines, the actions of other states, and data modeling as the reason for the extension. So far, the data model the Executive Branch is using has not been released to the legislature or the public. Senator Andrew Mathews (R-Princeton) made the following statement in response –
“Governor Walz’s announcement to extend the “Stay at Home” Order is seriously disappointing for our local and small businesses. We know that many industries can operate in a safe manner according to the CDC guidelines. This blanket order does not fit our largely rural state. The Governor mentioned items in his announcement that were brought up by me and other GOP Senators as good options for re-opening, like boat repair and storage shops, golf courses, and others. Instead of saying ‘Here’s my plan,’ his announcement today amounted to ‘We’ll keep looking into it.’ We cannot afford inaction.
Most people are still shopping at major stores like Walmart during this time, showing there’s no reason more businesses can’t safely re-open to help employees, families, and small business owners stay afloat. Several small business owners have already described to me the safety plans they will implement if they’re allowed to re-open. It matches point-by-point to Governor Walz’s description of what he wants to see before opening other businesses. Let business owners do the planning. If we wait for the state to micro-manage each industry, many businesses will run out of time.
We can’t eliminate all risks, but we can apply safety protocols to expanded areas to keep our residents healthy and well. I encourage Governor Walz to direct his agencies to start working with business owners to safely re-open operations as soon as possible.”