Saturday, May 30 COVID-19 update in Minnesota

Today, the Minnesota Department of Health reported 30 more COVID deaths.

Of those 30 deaths, 26 lived in long-term care facilities. That represents 87 percent of the deaths reported today.

For the umpteenth day in a row, Minnesota has had more COVID deaths than Wisconsin has had. Also, according to a Milwaukee newspaper, Wisconsin's main COVID hot spots are in the southeastern part of their state.

Arrests being made of Minneapolis rioters

Here's names and a few hometowns provided for the rioters who were arrested in Hennepin County this morning, following a fourth straight night of mayhem in Minneapolis. These arrests illustrate progress! Thank you, law enforcement! A few of these names have charges listed...if no charge is listed, generally, their arrest was made for burglary.



Ariana Ameena Shareef
Jaleel Ahmad Sanford
Cueles Lee Wallace
John Richard Rieple
Nicholas Dale Wilson (riot)
Leah Marie Overbaugh (unlawful assembly)
John Andrew Rogerson
Bobby Dion Woods  (from Illinois)
Alexis Chardae Rodgers (Big Lake, MN ... riot)
Prestin James Schaefbauer (Big Lake, MN - assault, 4th degree)
Jerica Ann Powell
Tatianna Jamesha Simms (Jordan, MN - burglary)
Sierra Catherine West  (Kansas City, MO - riot)
Brandon Marcelle Young  (Ames, IA - weapons)
Bryce Randall Silverness (riot)
Elizabeth Paige Stuge (Lakeville, MN - riot)
Matthew Austin Tingstad (Sutton, Alaska - burglary)
Krista Carol Wendt (Minneapolis)
Kevon Devante Rayshun Ousley (Minneapolis - assault & burglary)
Malia Nadine Montgomery (Burnsville - riot)
Scott William Nichols (Minneapolis - riot)
Lars Ivan Krogstad Ortiz (Minneapolis - riot)
Antonio Delon Locke (Thief River Falls, MN - machine guns & short-barreled shotguns)
Luis Juan Lojano-Elizalde (Minneapolis - riot)
Zoe NMN Nidzgorski (Eagan MN - unlawful assembly)
Abdirahman Abdullahi Mohamud  (Minneapolis - aggravated robbery)
Melody Rae Hubertus  (no address - riot)
Uriel Guzman (Inver Grove Heights, MN - burglary)

Tyron Lynndale Harris (Chicago, IL - burglary/stealing)
Jamayle Duke Howard (Minneapolis - burglary)
Terrance Octavious Hobson (St. Paul - burglary)
Sharon Michelle Ingram  (Minneapolis - burglary)
Deztiny Troi Glass (Brooklyn Park - riot)
Haakon Porter Gisvold (Minneapolis - riot)
Vanessa Lynnette Gonzalez (Minneapolis - riot)
Elizabeth Francesca James (Minneapolis - damage to property)
Delaney Nicholas Harris (Chicago, IL - burglary)
Michael Cheng Leng Fang (St. Paul - riot)
Omar Abdirahman Farah (Blaine, MN - aggravated robbery)
Braithe Vincent Ferguson (Mirmar, FL  - burglary)
Kevionta Laquan Denson (Chicago, IL - burglary)
Sierra Lee Elam (Minneapolis - riot)
Levi Joseph Garrow (Temperance, MI - riot) 
Deanthony Michael Frye (St. Paul - burglary and drugs)
Kayavin Shamir Unger (Minneapolis - burglary)
Jessica Danielle Cook (St. Paul - riot)

• Sidebar on Ms. Cook...she was live-streaming on Facebook at the time of her arrest. She said she wasn't doing anything except trying to find her friend who was scared. However, multiple prior Facebook Live broadcasts all encouraged rioting. She was shocked when she was arrested for rioting, because she said, she was "protesting peacefully" !

 

Darwin David Castilla-Alvarez (Minneapolis - riot)
Wauney Daymond Cole (Brooklyn Center, MN - theft of auto)
Natalie Jean Cook (Hastings, MN - riot)
Devin Augustin Cook (Hastings, MN - riot)
Lahrone Demario Allen (St. Paul, MN - burglary)
Curtis Edwin Avent  (St. Paul, MN - unlawful assembly)
Queensarauniya Shauntel Beard (Brooklyn Center, MN - burglary)
Kyle Brandon Bazant (Minneapolis - riot)

(end of list that was provided as of 12 p.m. today)

St. Cloud area puts guard up

A few businesses in St. Cloud are closing early because of the madness ensuing in the Twin Cities metro area.

Target has temporarily closed 30 stores, including its Crossroads Center and East Side Target stores in St. Cloud.

Coborns in St. Cloud is aloso closing some of its locations early at 5 p.m. on Friday. Cash Wise stores in east St. Cloud and Waite Park, Coborn’s on Cooper Avenue in St. Cloud, and Holiday gas stations in Waite Park, on Highway 10 in St. Cloud and on Fifth Avenue in St. Cloud.

Aldis in Waite Park has boarded over its doors and is closed until 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

Some perspective about the Minneapolis riots = an American police station has not been destroyed or even overrun in decades if ever, not even during the Watts unrest of 1965, the Rodney King unrest of 1992 or the Ferguson unrest of 2014. Minneapolis has surpassed all of them.

Crazy. 

Enough!

When will parents across America say, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" and stop this from happening?


Time to get a jump on home schooling plans.

Minneapolis: Day Two of rioting

This was taken off of Twitter around 4 p.m. today:

• Live radio feed from the Minneapolis police right now:

"We are all out of gas and they are stealing our riot gear from our truck." "I have two strike teams ready, where do you want me to deploy them?"

• Today, Governor Walz sent the National Guard, at the request of Minneapolis's mayor. This is the first time in 34 years that the National Guard has been sent out in response to a civil disturbance.

This is a photo from the parking lot of the 3rd Precinct Police Department in Minneapolis. It was overtaken by protesters tonight. PHOTO BY JULIO ROSAS, TOWNHALL.COM SENIOR WRITER

The above photo was uploaded to Twitter at 10:10 p.m. tonight (Thursday) by senior writer Julio Rosas of Http://www.Townhall.com. He added, "Can't believe what I'm seeing the Minneapolis police has ABANDONED the 3rd precinct's building!! Rioters have stormed in the parking lot and are now damaging the building." Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/Julio_Rosas11.

At about 10:30 p.m., the Townhall reporter took this photo, after the 3rd Precinct building was set on fire.

Julio Rosas stated in another tweet, "I've covered many protests/riots in my short time working in the media and I can say none of them (Charlottesville, D.C., Portland) comes close to what I'm seeing in Minneapolis right now."

*Update at 11 p.m...now more than 500 National Guard members have been activated to quell the rioting in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis

The vibrant city of Minneapolis is on fire right now. Not necessarily literally on fire (although I just watched video of a Cub Foods grocery store on fire as smoke billowed out of its windows)...but the immense level of anger erupting in the wake of the killing of George Floyd has boiled over tonight.

While at the B-B-E high school graduation tonight, I could sense from 120 miles away that things were going badly in Minneapolis.

After getting home and jumping in Twitter, my feeling was confirmed.

There are multiple blocks literally on fire...and if they are NOT on fire, long strings of businesses have their windows all smashed out completely. Lake Street in Minneapolis is "ground zero" at this point. A Cub Foods grocery store has been looted and is on fire, with smoke billowing out of the broke windows.

*Update: at 11:54 p.m., Minneapolis Mayer Frey requested the assistance of the National Guard from Governor Walz.

South Dakota

Business-related COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in Sioux Falls, South Dakota today.

The best 23 minute video you can watch

This is the most crucial and most important video you can watch right now. I found it fascinating to listen to this!


There is an endless list of steps you should be taking right now to help you fight off a possible attack by the COVID virus. Get on it!

COVID case update in Minnesota

The state of Minnesota has reported 869 deaths from the COVID-19 virus since January.

Of that amount, only eight did not live in congregate care facilities or did not have underlying health conditions such as morbid obesity or hypertension.

Over in South Dakota, they reported no deaths today. They stand at 57 deaths per million.

In Wisconsin, they stand at 510 deaths, which is 87 deaths per million of population. They reported just three deaths today.

In Texas, the state with the second-most population in the U.S., they are at 1,527 deaths. This represents 53 COVID deaths per million in a state with over 29 million people. 

*And a video with 13 minutes of great information:


Meanwhile, in Minnesota, we've suffered 156 deaths per million people of population - again, mostly in nursing homes.

And lest anyone forgets, Stearns County was declared a COVID "Hot Spot" on May 4, a full 20 days ago, when the state reported the first two COVID deaths in our county.

On what planet?

Someone needs to help me out here.

Over 82 percent of COVID deaths are from long-term care facilities in Minnesota. Yet at least as of Thursday, according to Senator Karin Housley, nursing homes were still accepting COVID-positive patients onto their campuses.

So while that is taking place, our kids can't play something as harmless as a soccer game or softball game or baseball game? We are actively discouraging kids from playing together in any fashion.

On what planet is this even possible?

Kids need a variety of activities to encourage the behaviors that lead to good mental and physical health.

AND COVID-positive patients cannot be brought to nursing homes! We have to be smarter than this in Minnesota. We must demand it.

Just two days ago, a Minnesota Republican legislator found the formerly secret data model that Governor Walz's administration is using to justify their overreach on business and activity in the state. The model suggests Minnesota will have a COVID death rate that's eight times worse than it was in Italy.

What on earth!!!!!!!!!?

City council agenda for May 26

7:00 p.m. -   Matt Ogdahl – Quote for Overhang on Fire Hall

7:15        Lift Station Pump

7:30         Compost Site – Clean-up of Stumps

7:45        Schedule City Wide Clean-up
                       
8:00        City Interest in Purchasing Parcel – Crow Lake Street

8:15        Items/Suggestions for 2021 Budget

8:30     Other

Three county fairs

Today I learned that three county fairs in central Minnesota are canceled.

They are: Yellow Medicine County, Kandiyohi County and Pope County.

It's been quite a day

Quite the day today. It started out rough, with the depressing reality of the work required to breath life back into my Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. This small business is not unlike many other small businesses in America right now: we are gasping for air.

You could say that the engine driving the newspaper "threw a rod" and needs to be fixed. This is what we will address over the next four to five weeks. We are bracing for a very difficult summer.

On a daily basis over the past week, I've been reading news from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper on their website. Georgia is a fascinating case study of COVID-19, as they were hit very early in the pandemic in Atlanta due to their high-use International airport. Tonight I read about a Hancock County, Georgia, which is a rural county whose main hospital has been hit hard by COVID-19. The population of Hancock County is 8,500, and they have 170 reported COVID-19 cases.

In terms of Minnesota's battle against COVID, today the state reported 29 deaths to the virus. We continue to utterly fail our nursing home residents: 26 of the 29 deaths are from nursing home residents. That is unacceptable!

On a better note: my day ended with at least an hour of work in the garden. Our family garden, covering at least 1,100 square feet in multiple plots, is at least one-third planted. It has gotten off to a very good start other than one minor hiccup. I'll explain more on that in an upcoming newspaper issue.

Hope for the Heartland - smaller food processors

Smaller food processors is just one of the components of a way back for America from the current abyss we're in.

Read more at this article (short link) https://fxn.ws/3bNq7Dp.

And finally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is getting something right! Click here to read more (short link) https://fxn.ws/2LKSfMS.

Vaccine at ‘Warp Speed’? Let’s think about it, Mr. President

by Jane M. Orient, M.D., president of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness

The idea of moving at “warp speed” probably resonates with Star Wars fans. A galactic empire is impossible if it takes 100 years for a signal, much less a warship, to move from one system to another at the universal speed limit, 186,000 miles per second, the speed of light
Serious science fiction lovers know that the warp drive does not traverse space at faster-than-light speeds. It warps space, or leaps through another dimension—it takes a massive shortcut.
So, what’s the shortcut for vaccine development?
• Safety testing? It is impossible to test for long-term consequences without observing recipients for a long time—not a few days or weeks. If experts are worrying about long-term effects of having the disease, why not about the vaccine? If one consequence might be a massive immune over-reaction to a later exposure to the coronavirus, we’d need to await another outbreak.
•   Efficacy testing? One way to test for efficacy is to find an animal model. See whether unvaccinated animals get the disease when deliberately exposed, while vaccinated ones are protected. If this works, you still need to test humans: vaccinate one group, give one group a placebo, and see whether a larger proportion of the unvaccinated get sick. Normally, you would wait to see how the subjects fare in the real world, where they might get naturally exposed during their usual activities. This takes time. You could speed this up by giving them all a dose of the virus, which might kill some of them. That would be unethical—wouldn’t it?

One could test for antibodies, but do they work? Some are asserting that the antibodies that survivors have might not protect them. Why would the vaccine antibodies be better? For one thing, the virus might mutate. Maybe it already has.

Then what about production and distribution?

How about sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into producing various vaccine candidates, just in case they work? Then you could just waste it all if they don’t.

For distribution, why not mobilize the armed forces to quickly vaccinate 300 million people? Our furloughed medical workers might not be up to the job. Might arms be needed if people resist? Incidentally, if everybody gets the vaccine, there’s no control group. Doesn’t the scientific method call for one?

Why the hurry?

Experts like Tony Fauci and Bill Gates say we cannot go back to work until there’s “a vaccine.” (Note that they did not say “a safe and effective vaccine.”)

In fact, we could go back today—if the government were not stopping us.

One reason for hurry is that the epidemic might be gone, and the vaccinators couldn’t take the credit. We have no vaccine for the “Spanish” flu of 1918, the “Asian” flu of 1958, or the “Hong Kong” flu of 1968, all of which killed far more than the current pandemic, and all of which went away. A speedy vaccine, which was developed for the predicted 1976 mass extinction/swine flu pandemic that never was, resulted in deaths and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Humanity survived many waves of far more deadly pestilence before vaccines. The smallpox vaccine may have finally eliminated smallpox, but smallpox lesions were identified in Egyptian mummies from the 3rd century B.C., but not in earlier or later mummies. It re-emerged in the 6th and 7th centuries A.D., disappeared until the 11th century, then after being almost absent for about 300 years re-emerged in the 15th century.

In 2020, much has happened with amazing speed: the flattening of the economy, the suspension of civil liberties, the destruction of medical practices. Censorship of any information that the World Health Organization (WHO) doesn’t like, for example about potential game-changers like vitamin D and high-dose vitamin C. The declaration of a new drug remdesivir as the “standard of care” after an underwhelming study was prematurely stopped. The sequencing of the coronavirus genome. Revolutionary experimental DNA and RNA vaccine technologies.

Those who were seemingly prescient about the potential of coronavirus—Bill Gates holds a 2015 patent on a coronavirus created with recombinant gene technology, and the Gates Foundation held a crisis simulation modeled on a coronavirus in October 2019—did nothing to shore up preparedness measures such as equipment stockpiles.

Fear spreads at the speed of light. After 70 years and 100 million users of antimalarial drugs with remarkable safety, FDA is inspiring fear of heart problems from using hydroxychloroquine or azithromycin for COVID-10—but don’t worry if it’s for lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or malaria.

We need an immediate return to letting doctors practice and letting people work. They need accurate information, so they can make prudent decisions about protecting themselves and their loved ones. We need an immediate end to the dictatorial influence of a few long-entrenched “experts” or media giants, and investigations of conflicts of interest with all deliberate speed.

What we do NOT need is panic-inspired warping of safety testing.

Jane M. Orient, M.D. obtained her undergraduate degrees in chemistry and mathematics from the University of Arizona in Tucson, and her M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1974. She completed an internal medicine residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital and University of Arizona Affiliated Hospitals and then became an Instructor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and a staff physician at the Tucson Veterans Administration Hospital. She has been in solo private practice since 1981 and has served as Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) since 1989. She is currently president of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness.

Shady's Bar in Albany continues with take-out only

I spoke in person with Shady's Bar owner Kris Schiffler in Albany this afternoon.

He had a huge crowd of supporters gathered at his bar location in downtown Albany. At the last minute, at the behest of his attorney, they are continuing with just take-out orders. They did not open to in-person dining.

The crowd was enormous, and everyone was extremely happy. It was the happiest scene I have been around since March 12, when I took in a basketball game at the Minnesota state tournament in Minneapolis.

Here's video from downtown Albany today:


As it turns out, Attorney General Keith Ellison was premature in filing his restraining order. He did not even consult with Schiffler's attorney before filing it, which is usually standard procedure (think of it as good sportsmanship).

Schiffler and his attorney are working on their next move. This is far from over.

• For background information, here's the press release from Ellison's office (short link) https://bit.ly/3bHNVsd.

#WW1WGA

ATV trails open, but Youth Safety Training classes postponed

In a typical year, Minnesota’s ATV clubs hold over 75 ATV Safety Training Classes for riders age 10 to 15, certifying over 2,500 youth to be legal to ride ATVs. Unfortunately, this is not a typical year. All classes are postponed until further notice, as part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) response to COVID-19. The Governor’s “Stay at Home” order has also forced cancellation of annual meetings and rides by the ATV Association of Minnesota (ATVAM), attended by hundreds of members from around the state.

Like older students missing prom and graduation, many young riders are missing the opportunity to legally ride ATVs this summer with their parents on Minnesota’s vast public trail system. Anyone born after July 1, 1987, who is age 12 or older, must have a valid ATV Safety Certificate to operate on public lands, trails, and frozen waters, and when crossing road rights-of-way. Youth ages 10 to 15 must complete both an on-line class, and a “hands-on” riding course taught by DNR-certified instructors but now postponed. Riders born after July 1, 1987 who are age 16 and older are required to only take the on-line class to get their DNR Certificate, but are encourage to take the “hands-on” course. The on-line course includes information on basic operation, common parts and controls, operating safely and responsibly, trail riding, laws, riding skills, and protecting the environment. The “hands-on” portion features a simulated trail young riders maneuver on an ATV, complete with signs, small obstacles and a hill to be traversed.

The good news is that many of the State ATV Trail Systems opened on May 1, giving the riding public a great opportunity to escape the confines of their homes and ride their ATVs, while practicing social distancing. ATV clubs maintain 90% of the public ATV trails in Minnesota, and are able to do trail work. Club members who are certified DNR Trail Ambassadors are able to monitor trails to help keep them safe, and visit with riders at a distance about trails and regulations; they are not allowed to distribute maps, safety information or regulation books at this time. Some ATV club rides are going on as scheduled, with members using social distancing and other practices to avoid the spread of the virus. Camping in all State Forests as well as the Chippewa and Superior National Forests is currently prohibited.

Some ATV trails remain closed due to spring thaw and wet conditions. Before heading out, riders should check the Minnesota DNR website for the open/closed status of State ATV Trails and State Forest Roads. The website also features ATV regulations, trail maps and other helpful information. For additional details, contact the DNR Info Center by phone at 651-296-6157, or by email to info.dnr@state.mn.us. To learn more about ATVAM and to find an ATV club in the area where you live or ride, visit its website at www.atvam.org.

ATVAM is a non-profit state association representing 70 ATV clubs across Minnesota. It promotes responsible ATV riding, and provides ATV clubs with the “tools” they need to build sustainable ATV trails for the riding public that are fun and sustainable, while protecting natural resources.

Attorney General responds to Stearns County bar owner

Attorney General Ellison files lawsuit to prevent six bars, restaurants from reopening illegally during COVID-19 emergency

Press release posted on Sunday night, May 17, 2020

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced this evening that his office has filed an enforcement action against a chain of six bars and restaurants known as “Shady’s” that have vowed to reopen tomorrow or in the coming days for on-site consumption of food and beverages during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in violation of Governor Tim Walz’s “Stay Safe Minnesota” Executive Order 20-56. The establishments are located in Albany, Burtrum, Cold Spring, New Munich, Rice, and St. Martin, all in or near the Stearns County COVID-19 hotspot. The lawsuit also names owner Kris Schiffler individually as a defendant.

The Attorney General’s Office informed Mr. Schiffler that reopening prior to the date allowed in the Order and before the State’s scheduled release of a plan to safely reopen bars and restaurants would be both dangerous to the public health and in violation of Executive Order 20-56. Despite initially indicating agreement to delay opening, the owner again publicly stated today that he intends to defy the Governor’s Executive Order and reopen tomorrow despite the public-health risk.

As of May 17, 15,668 Minnesotans have been diagnosed with COVID-19. A total of 722 Minnesotans have died. Stearns County has the second-highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Minnesota.

“The vast majority of Minnesota’s bar and restaurant owners are doing the safe, lawful, and right thing during this crisis by keeping their doors closed, while still serving customers as allowed through take-out and drive-up. As hard as it is for them — and I know it’s hard — they’re doing their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep themselves, their families, their employees, and their customers safe from this deadly pandemic. They deserve all of our thanks,” Attorney General Ellison said.

“A handful of bar and restaurant owners have said they don’t want to wait any longer and want to reopen illegally. Over the past several days, my office has reached out to them to try to educate them on their rights and responsibilities under the law and the risks to Minnesotans’ health of reopening illegally. In almost all cases, owners have agreed to comply with the law. I thank them for complying.

“The owner of Shady’s, however, has declared his intention to break the law and endanger his customers and employees — in Stearns County, with the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in Minnesota. My office has the duty to enforce the law and the Governor’s order, to protect Minnesotans’ health, and to protect businesses that are complying with the order from unfair competition. I take that duty seriously,” Attorney General Ellison added.

This is the first enforcement action the Attorney General has brought to prevent the premature restart of on-site consumption in bars, taverns, and restaurants, before the State issues guidelines on how to safely reopen those spaces while ensuring that the safety and health of the public is protected during the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. The Attorney General’s Office is seeking emergency relief from the Court to prevent the six “Shady’s” bars and restaurants from violating Governor Walz’s Executive Order and putting its employees and the public at risk.

The Attorney General has the power to enforce Executive Order 20-56 (see Section 10 on pp. 9-10). In the enforcement action brought today, the Attorney General is seeking permanent injunctive relief, civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, restitution and/or disgorgement of profits, the Office’s costs and fees, and other equitable relief — all as authorized under the Executive Order and Minnesota law.

Shady’s Taverns and owner Kris Schiffler

The Attorney General’s Office brought an enforcement action against multiple entities owned by Kris Schiffler, and against Mr. Schiffler individually. Mr. Schiffler is the owner and manager of six “Shady’s” restaurants: Shady’s Hometown Tavern and Event Center in Albany, Shady’s Long Shots in Cold Spring, Shady’s Bar & Grill in New Munich, and Shady’s Silver Spur in St. Martin, all in Stearns County; Shady’s Railside in Rice, in Benton County; and Shady’s Golden Eagle in Burtrum, in Todd County. 

Mr. Schiffler, on behalf of his six restaurants, has repeatedly publicly represented his intention to violate Executive Order 20-56 by reopening the restaurants for on-premises consumption before June 1, 2020, the earliest date by which bars, taverns, and restaurants may reopen under the Executive Order. 

On May 13, Mr. Schiffler announced in a television interview that he would be opening all his restaurants for on-premises consumption on May 18.  He reiterated this statement on several of Shady’s restaurants’ Facebook pages. He made the same representation when the Attorney General’s Office initially contacted him on May 15.  The next day, May 16, he indicated he would wait to reopen the restaurants until receiving the State’s safety plan, but still planned to reopen on May 20.  Today, however, after raising more than $160,000 through a gofundme fundraiser campaign, he publicly announced on his personal Facebook page that “Shady’s Hometown Tavern in Albany will be open tomorrow, Monday May 18^th at Noon!”

Stearns County COVID-19 hot spot

Stearns County is currently a COVID-19 hot spot.  In the first week of May, COVID-19 cases increased 454 percentin Stearns County, compared to 95.5 percent across the State as a whole.  According to the State of Minnesota COVID-19 dashboard, Stearns County now has the second-higher number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state. Its rate of COVID-19 cases per capita is 2.5 times higher than Hennepin County and 3.5 times higher than Ramsey County.

Despite these facts, Kris Schiffler has stated, “You have a better chance of getting eaten by a timber wolf or a grizzly bear than getting COVID-19.”

Additional investigations

Attorney General Ellison’s Office also continues to investigate other bars, taverns, and restaurants for threatening to illegally reopen for on-premises consumption in violation of Executive Order 20-56. The Office is working to resolve those cases and win establishments’ compliance with the Executive Order before any need to enforce it in court. Any bar, tavern, or restaurant that willfully defies and refuses to comply with Executive Order 20-56 will be met with legal action.

The Attorney General’s Office is also sharing reports it receives of non-compliance with Executive Order 20-56 with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (“AGED”). AGED will investigate such reports and any violations it discovers could lead to a fine as well as liquor-license suspension or revocation.

Under Governor Walz’s Executive Order 20-56, bar and restaurant owners are prohibited from providing on-site consumption services until June 1, 2020 at the earliest. Bars and restaurants are still permitted to provide take-out and delivery services, and a new Minnesota law allows the sale of a bottle of wine or up to a six-pack of beer, cider, or hard seltzer with the sale of food. 

A plea for the children (from a pediatrician)

Kinlee Swanson and Jordan Wosmek, both 2015 B-B-E graduates, posing for a Prom Grand March photo.

Noteworthy advice from a Texas pediatrician:

https://www.ctpgt.com/post/plea-for-the-children.

• Dr. Adrian Gaty to Alex Berenson, former reporter for the New York Times

May 15, 2020

Dear Mr. Berenson,

Thank you so much for what you've been doing the past few months. I know you've got a huge audience, and I'm sure many among them are pediatricians like me, who have seen the numbers on how little risk COVID poses to our patients. I just wanted to write to encourage them to speak out to their patients. I posted the message below on my practice's website, strongly encouraging families to let their kids go out and play with their friends, warning of the huge and totally pointless mental health catastrophe we're facing.
I was bracing for an onslaught of nasty Karengrams (you should see my my next door...), but the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. I know of several play dates, and even a youth soccer practice, that were organized directly as a result of my post.
I think that a lot of families are ready to ignore the harmful expert advice and let their kids free, but reluctant to do so without a doctor they trust telling them it's okay.
So hopefully you can encourage some of the other doctors who follow you to go ahead and give their patients the okay. Let's get our children sane again!
Here's the link to my post, I pasted it below: 

https://www.ctpgt.com/post/plea-for-the-children.

Nursing home death rates: Florida vs. New York

This is very unnerving.

"The (nursing home) death rate in Florida is about three per 100,000. In New York state it's 27.5 per 100,000. So, [that’s] nine times worse," he added. "Absolutely tragic [and] totally, totally unnecessary!"

Source: Deroy Murdock (short link) https://fxn.ws/3dSSiSJ.

For about a week now, I've been reading the newspapers from Orlando, FL and Atlanta, GA. They are restoring more and more "life" to their society. They are trying to un-spook the herd. That can be done in an orderly fashion. A gradual resuming of most normal activities.

They started this in Georgia back on April 24. The results are speaking volumes today, 22 days later.

Dusting off the newspaper blog

During a period of time when getting information out quickly is very important, the Bonanza Valley Voice is dusting off a blog that hasn't seen regular use since 2015.

There's nothing urgent to post at the current time, but in the mean time some opinion may find its way here, and other random items for readers.

Below, I've got noteworthy news to post.

Representative Paul Anderson-Starbuck

The COVID-19 crisis has expanded financial harm (and certainly emotional harm) that workers and farmers in the agriculture community have endured in recent years.

Currently, the Minnesota State Legislature is crafting a relief bill for agriculture. It includes a provision for farmer-lender mediation if a farm owner is in financial crisis. This state-sanctioned mediation allows a farmer to come to an agreement with his or her lender regarding outstanding farm debt. If this legislation passes, the deadline for applications filed by August of this year would be December 1, 2020.

I am hopeful it will pass. It is badly needed.