Dear Lakeville Neighbors and Friends
May the luck of the Irish Be With Us!
As your legislator and friend, my goal is to keep you and your family informed and to share resources that you can use to keep your family safe.
I know you are getting numerous emails, it is not my goal to be the first email of the day with “breaking” news or to be a star on social media. I am your resource and advocate to state government and will continue to work behind the scenes to address the needs for good and responsive government. This email is longer than normal, but has useful links and resources for you to use.
No community is immune from the pandemic, but I know Lakeville will work together and be strong through this issue and beyond.
I remain committed to ensuring that our community is represented despite the legislature’s changing work schedule and set up. I am available via phone or email and encourage you to reach out, like the many who have already, if you have any questions or concerns. Please include your address so that I can prioritize emails for district constituents. We get emails from across the state, but I value your concerns first.
Protecting Your Voice
I stand prepared to provide a check and balance as a member of the legislature to any executive actions taken by Governor Walz. As a co-equal branch of government, we need to work in unison with the Governor to ensure Minnesotans are protected and that the spread of COVID-19 is mitigated.
I am extremely mindful of the balance of power and am committed to having a legislative branch that does not cede its duties blankly to another branch of government without being advised and appraised of certain actions.
Providing Support
The Minnesota Department of Health has hotlines available to assist Minnesotans, including a public line (651) 201-3920 and a line for questions specifically related to schools and/or childcare (651) 297-1304. Several online resources also are available to help individuals stay up to date:
School Closures
Governor Walz has ordered all public schools to be closed to students on Wednesday, March 18 through Friday, March 27 to accommodate planning between school staff, teachers, and administrators with guidance from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
For more information on how your school is handling closures, visit your district’s website:
Walz Business Closures
Governor Walz announced yesterday the mandatory closure of restaurants, bars, and other public places where crowds generally congregate. Take out, to-go, and curbside options are still available.
Closing school, restaurants, bars, clubs, gyms, and other similar spaces and businesses across the state will cause significant hardship for many families and individuals.
In order to mitigate some of the economic hardship employees will face, Governor Walz issued an additional executive order to help workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have full access to unemployment benefits. According to the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program, the executive order makes applicants eligible for unemployment insurance benefits if:
- A healthcare professional or health authority recommended or ordered them to avoid contact with others.
- They have been ordered not to come to their workplace due to an outbreak of a communicable disease.
- They have received notification from a school district, daycare, or other childcare provider that either classes are canceled or the applicant’s ordinary childcare is unavailable, provided that the applicant made reasonable effort to obtain other childcare and requested time off or other accommodation from the employer and no reasonable accommodation was available.
If your employment has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, I urge you to apply for unemployment benefits online.
Visit the Unemployment Insurance Program website at www.uimn.org to learn more.
This temporary step by Governor Walz was dramatic but as we try and get a handle on the spread of COVID-19, it was likely necessary to stop the spread of the outbreak. I wish it would have been geographically limited to impacted areas. I know this move was and will be devastating to many small businesses and their employees across the state. We were not notified in advance.
Non-the-less, it is aimed at “flattening the curve” or the total number of outbreaks in hopes of avoiding an extreme situation we’ve seen in countries like Italy where health systems have been overwhelmed with little to no hospital beds or respirators available to those that are sick and require intensive medical care.
Once again, if you or a loved one has lost or does lose their job or had their hours reduced as a result of these closings, please encourage them to apply for unemployment insurance benefits. You can find more information at www.uimn.org.
I fully understand that the benefits will not cover the totality of lost income, or the stress and uncertainty this has on families in the hospitality industry, mine included.
My colleagues and I are very concerned about the small business’ and job creators that are the backbone of our local and state economy. We are having discussions on how to stimulate the local economy and provide relief to these important segments of our communities. My heart breaks for the nervous families who have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into their businesses. We must work to support our neighbors that contribute so much to the tight-knit communities we call home. I’ll hopefully have more for you on this next time.
Emergency Health Care Contingency Funds Approved
Early Tuesday morning, the legislature unanimously approved in the House and Senate, $200 million in additional funding to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding adds to the $21 million passed last week to assist the Department of Health and local health agencies, making resources available to hospitals, providers, ambulance services, long-term care facilities, and other entities who will be involved in the response to this outbreak.
There are taxpayer protections in the bill including legislative oversight, consequences for unauthorized use of funds, and returning money that goes unspent back to the general fund.
Legislators will continue to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak as it unfolds, and take additional measures if necessary to maximize our state's ability to respond and care for those who are ill, at-risk, or dealing with the consequences of the widespread school and business closures. Minnesota has a proud tradition of coming together during difficult times, during floods, natural disasters, and other challenging events. This will be no different.
Addressing Your Concerns – Keep Me Posted
Lakeville residents are strong, and we will get through this together. Until then, please make sure to listen to the advice of health experts. Remember to include your address so we can prioritize your concerns, and often I prefer to call you if the concern is more involved, so add a phone number also if you wish.
Please remain smart, safe and be calm and good to each other.
Jon Koznick
Assistant Minority Leader
State Representative, Lakeville, 58A