Month: May 2020

Senator Mark Johnson has released a legislative update.  His letter to constituents is below –

Greetings

If it seems like a month since I’ve sent out my last newsletter … you are right. Despite the headaches of COVID-19, there is good news regarding the progression of the virus. Our hospitals have been equipped to deal with challenges of this crisis. Proportionally, we have remained among the states with the lowest number of cases. At this time, more than half of the total cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota no longer require isolation.

Covid-19 is still an illness and with illness there are dangers, but we are prepared to confront the medical issues that may come. Minnesotans have taken the threat of the virus seriously. Given the great amount of care Minnesotans have shown, we must trust individuals to decide how to proceed. I trust the residents of Northwest Minnesota to maintain common-sense health practices while opening businesses back up where it is safe to do so. We can maintain best health practices and protect high-risk individuals without needlessly destroying the livelihood of small business owners and personal finances of Minnesotans. Here are some accomplishments that have been made over the last couple of weeks.

Low Cost Ventilator Created by Digi-Key Authorized by FDA for Use

Despite the immense amount of hardship and challenges business face with COVID-19, many have stepped up to help their community and address the needs of our state and country during this difficult time. Digi-Key, headquartered in Thief River Falls, has worked with U of M researchers in developing a low-cost ventilator. This new type of ventilator known as the “Coventor” was made to help provide ventilators to settings where they are less abundant. A lack of ventilators in rural Minnesota has been a concern of many during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. It is great to see businesses step up to help address this problem.

Filling Healthcare Staff Shortages in Greater Minnesota

In a recent coronavirus-related Executive Order, health care workers from outside of Minnesota will be allowed to work in the state’s healthcare facilities. This critical order will help with staffing shortages, particularly in Greater Minnesota, by allowing facilities additional avenues to mobilize and fill vacancies rapidly.  Under current Minnesota law, doctors and nurses moving to the state would have to go through a time-consuming process by obtaining a license from either the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice or the Minnesota Board of Nursing to provide emergency response and intensive care services in the state. Under the order, hospitals, clinics, and care facilities can now hire medical professionals from outside of Minnesota provided they meet the qualifications and licenses required by other states.

This executive order is a critical development for health care providers and facilities in Greater Minnesota. In parts of the state where we already struggle to meet our health care worker demand, our healthcare providers and long-term care facilities will now be more equipped to fill shortages. This means better health outcomes for the residents of our region as we can more rapidly respond to the evolving demands of this crisis. Before the crisis, rural parts of Minnesota were already asking for this change regarding health care licensing. As we see this order play out and information is gathered on health care outcomes, we should analyze the results to see the impact and determine if this something that Minnesota possibly should consider long-term.

Plan to Expand COVID-19 Testing

Recently, a plan has been announced to rapidly increase the testing capacity of Minnesota. A partnership with the University of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic, and Health Partners has been formed to help develop the most aggressive testing program in the nation. Governor Walz had previously stated that he wants to see Minnesota reach 5,000 tests per day before re-opening the state for business. This new testing program aims to carry out 20,000 per day.

Paid Family Leave

While the legislature’s primary concern at this time is COVID-19, regularly scheduled committee meetings have resumed remotely. Last Tuesday I had the privilege of presenting a market based paid family leave bill in the Senate Commerce Committee. This approach allows for choices and eliminates the burdens that a mandate would place on employees and businesses. It is a big step in the right direction to obtaining paid family leave for Minnesotans. Especially in times of crisis, having this kind of flexibility for Minnesotans is important. Watch my video below to hear my thoughts on this bill.

Reopening Minnesota

I continue to be disappointed with Governor Walz’s decision to extend the blanket stay-at-home order across Minnesota. Our small businesses are doing all they can to stay afloat. Businesses in Northwestern Minnesota are facing a particularly tough time, as our neighbor to the west, North Dakota, have already begun to open up. Our state does not need to choose between preserving public health or helping our economy; we can do both.  We all want to protect our parents, sisters, brothers, friends, neighbors, classmates, and loved ones, and our businesses do too. I ask Governor Walz to change Minnesota’s approach to dealing with Covid-19 by focusing on evidence-based solutions and listening to our businesses on the front lines and their plans that will allow us to open up Minnesota safely and smartly.

So much progress has been made over the last month in our response to COVID-19. Nearly all Minnesotans have stepped up to get us through this. Individuals and businesses are altering their activities to ensure the health and safety of their community. We are beginning to see many people return to work. We need to expedite this process and allow more businesses to open as soon as possible.

It is absolutely vital for business to resume in Northern Minnesota. Many businesses face the possibility of shutting down permanently if this continues. A recent MPR article shows how our farms have been struggling as a result of COVID-19. Falling crop prices have economists adjusting farm income downward for 2020. Farms are struggling throughout the whole country because of COVID-19. Harvest-ready crop field are being abandoned, thousands of gallons of milk are being dumped, and hog farmers are considering euthanizing young pigs. Business interruptions are preventing farmers from selling their products, and the financial consequences are huge.

Along with our farms, our hospitals are being negatively impacted by the Stay at Home Restrictions. Not only does it jeopardize our rural health system, but it also harms those whose quality of life depend on time-sensitive surgeries. Our hospitals have reduced their capacity by 40%-60%. That means idle nurses, surgeons, and staff, while people are waiting for their joint replacements or their orthopedic relief. Our hospitals tell me they can preform time-sensitive procedures without compromising their ability to respond to COVID-19. I know these are uncertain times, but we need a different approach for Minnesota.

With all the progress that has been made over the last few weeks, I believe it is time to divert our efforts to seeing business resume as soon as possible in a safe manner. I have heard from hundreds of you over the last week asking for a new approach. I share your frustration, and I want you to know that I am hard at work every day to reach a better solution for us all.

I encourage you to contact my office at:

2105 Minnesota Senate Building
95 University Avenue West
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-296-5782
Sen.Mark.Johnson@Senate.mn

Crookston’s True Value Hardware began their Grand Opening week Saturday with the Ox Cart Days Committee hosting a cookout outside the business.

The committee served burgers to-go from B&E Meats and ran out once before picking up a second order.

There will be another curbside cookout Saturday, May 9 from 12-2 p.m. with brats, chips, and a drink for $6. They’ll also have burgers on a first-come, first-serve basis.  KROX will broadcast live from 11 am to 1 pm from the True Value grand opening.

The cookouts are sponsored by DeBoer Builders.

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Minakwa Golf Course opened over the weekend, allowing walkers on the course.  However, due to COVID-19, the course has put some changes into effect.
“When you come out to the golf course to golf, we don’t have the clubhouse open,” said Jessica Ross. “You’ll come to the west side of the building, and we’re doing everything through the window there. You can still get drinks, pay for your round, and do all that. But we’re trying to maintain social distancing and making sure we carefully sanitize everything after we have a customer come to the window.  On the golf course, we have pool noodles around the bottom of the pin, so you don’t have to reach into the hole to grab your golf ball.  We’d just ask that you maintain social distancing on the golf course. Don’t pick up your playing partners clubs for them, don’t shake hands after the round, just maintain social distancing in any way you can.”

Ross said parts of the course are still pretty wet, so it’s uncertain when carts will be allowed on the course. “Currently, we are not allowing golf carts,” said Ross. “It’s still pretty soggy down at the bottom of the hill. With this rain coming in today, we’re not entirely sure when we will have them available on the course. We’ll have to see how much rain comes, and hopefully, we’ll have them sooner than later.”

To do what it can for the community to ease the burden of COVID-19, especially on youth cooped up inside with no spring sports season, Minakwa will offer free golf to juniors for May explained Ross. “Due to all this COVID stuff and the high school team seasons being canceled, we are allowing junior golfers to golf for free for the month of May,” said Ross. “It’s a good opportunity for kids to break away from their schoolwork and get out to enjoy some fresh air. Hopefully, we see more junior play, and we look forward to seeing everyone out here, hopefully soon.”

Ross also said that the course will not be able to host tournaments at the course until the social distancing guidelines are lifted. “As long as the social distancing guidelines are in place, we won’t be able to host tournaments,” said Ross. “We don’t know when those will be lifted, so at the moment we don’t have anything coming up in the foreseeable future. A lot of our fundraiser tournaments that we host have been rescheduled to later in the summer or early fall. So, you can plan on playing a lot of those in August and September.”

The driving range is also currently closed as Minakwa works to find a way to safely open the range following COVID-19 social distancing guidelines.  Finally, the Kitchen at the Kwa usually opens seasonally Memorial weekend, and Ross said the plan is to open the kitchen up with a more limited menu in 2020 on Memorial Day. “We revamped the menu,” said Ross. “We’re going to have a more limited menu this year, and we’re currently looking for a cook. Right now, we’re planning to have the kitchen open for to-go orders from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. I’d guess starting the Monday of Memorial Day weekend.”

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The Minnesota Department of Health has released the latest COVID-19 information.  The state only reported nine new COVID-19 related deaths after a slow testing weekend, for a total of 428.  Polk County had one more positive test for a total of 42 and Marshall County added one more positive test for a total of seven.  All the numbers are below.

Data is for cases that were tested and returned positive. Numbers are cumulative since Jan. 20, 2020. All data are preliminary and may change as cases are investigated. Many data points are collected during case interviews. Data presented below are for all cases, regardless of interview status. Data for cases pending interview may be listed as “unknown/missing”.

Not all suspected cases of COVID-19 are tested, so this data is not representative of the total number of people in Minnesota who have or had COVID-19.

Updated May 4, 2020.
Updated daily at 11 a.m., with data current as of 4 p.m. the previous day.
Data for April 12 was as of 8 p.m. the previous day.

Dates provided are those when the case, hospitalization, or death was first posted in this situation report.

• Minnesota COVID-19 Public Dashboard
• Minnesota’s COVID-19 Response and Preparation Capacity
• CDC: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Cases in the U.S.
• Minnesota COVID-19 Modeling