April 9, 2020
Stay Home Order Extended to May 4
By now you may have heard that Governor Tim Walz has extended our current Stay Home Order to end on May 4th. This comes as modeling shows we will need additional time to get out healthcare capacity ready for peak infection, due to difficulties in obtaining necessary supplies like personal protective equipment.
On the positive side, we are seeing the impact our efforts have had on saving lives. We have also begun the process of opening up what businesses we can. Many of you have written in about golf courses and landscapers, and the new executive order will allow groundskeepers to return to work after verifying some safety precautions. Discussions about opening up courses to the public are still ongoing. Please reach out to me if you have questions about this.
Also good news, Hennepin County Library is beginning to reopen libraries through curbside pickup. Eight locations have been chosen as a pilot project, and the Eden Prairie Library is one of them. This contactless service will begin during the week of April 13. Information about this should be online shortly by clicking HERE.
Getting us through this COVID-19 crisis was also the central subject of the governor’s State of the State last Sunday. You can watch it by clicking HERE.
As a reminder, the state’s new COVID-19 website is: https://mn.gov/covid19/. You can navigate all current resources from this site and also find the MN COVID-19 Dashboard that breaks down specific statistics.
Bill Signed to Cover COVID-19 under Worker’s Compensation
On Tuesday the legislature met to take up a bill to ensure that COVID-19 is covered under workers compensation for essential staff like first responders and health care workers. The governor signed it into law the same day. The text of the legislation can be found by clicking HERE.
We will be meeting next week as well, on Tuesday April 14, to take up additional legislation. Discussions are still ongoing surrounding additional aid for small business, hourly school employees, community education, and low-income Minnesotans.
These are unusual and historic times, and the legislature for the first time has been allowing members to vote remotely. An interesting article on this from the Legislative Reference Library can be found by clicking HERE.
Helping However We Can
Many people are struggling during this trying time, and I believe it is also bringing out the best in us. Minnesotans are helping their neighbors and community members and proving that we can get through this together.
One example came from a constituent, Irene Kelly, who reached out to see how Minnesota’s rotary districts can help in this fight. This is one of many instances of Minnesotans asking how they can help, when they do not need help themselves. To paraphrase JFK: they are asking what they can do for their country, not what their country can do for them.
Leaning Positivity from Our Kids
My wife Patti teaches 8th graders at Central Middle School in Eden Prairie. She recently asked her students what they have been up to. Here are three responses that I hope brighten your day:
“I read Pride and Prejudice and then started watching all of the movie adaptations.”
“I wrote an article about the Coronavirus for this Chinese organization and they published it on their website. I felt like a journalist. My dad was my editor and my dad’s friend was my publisher. I felt very accomplished as an aspiring journalist”
“Sewed buttons on to headbands so nurses ears don’t get hurt by the masks”