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Dear Neighbors,
I hope this finds you and your family well. These are tough times and we are all tired. Like many of you with loved ones serving as first responders, healthcare professionals and those in long term care, it has been a long winding road of worry and heartache. With a vaccine on the horizon there is a ray of hope as the first doses reach Minnesota.
With this news, some of us have been blessed with relief that we still have loved ones with us, relief that we were spared the pain so many families have had to endure that were not so fortunate, relief that the ache to hug our loved ones like so many families will soon be over. It feels as if a weight has lifted, a heavy burden for so many families in my community. I feel a weighty responsibility to them all.
I remain immensely grateful to the incredible staff caring for our loved ones all these months. I have unwavering gratitude for the doctors, nurses, and staff in our hospitals and clinics, the researchers who develop the vaccine, health department workers coordinating its distribution, and the workers driving this sunshine to all the facilities that make this possible.
It is with a humble and grateful heart I thank all those in our communities doing their part these many months to get us to this place where we can all feel the warmth of hope radiate through the stark cold of winter.
But for many families there remains a very real and impending struggle. With unemployment benefits to run out on December 26, many local small businesses on the brink of closure, and no support from the federal government yet a reality, we had to act quickly at the state level to provide immediate gap relief.
Our working families urgently need help, the Legislature approved a new economic assistance package designed to help small businesses, workers, and other Minnesotans struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key components of the plan include:
- A 13-week extension of unemployment benefits. Without this legislative action, over 100,000 Minnesota workers were on track to lose benefits on December 26 when funding under the federal CARES Act expires.
- $88 million of financial aid to businesses experiencing economic harm due to the pandemic. Those eligible businesses include restaurants, bars, coffee shops, breweries, wineries and distilleries with taprooms or tasting rooms, caterers, bowling alleys, and some gyms and fitness centers.
- $14 million worth of grants to movie theaters and large convention centers.
- $114.8 million for county grants to other affected businesses, including hotels, museums, arcades and live theater venues.
- Waiver or delay of a series of fees for the hospitality industry, including 2 a.m. liquor licenses for bars, caterers that serve alcohol, wastewater permitting fees for small breweries, and certain late payment penalties for food related businesses.
- Extension of the deadline for families to apply for free and reduced-price lunch.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue has begun reaching out to eligible businesses directly. More information on the Small Business Relief Program is available on the Department’s website.
The First Round of COVID Vaccines
Before the vaccine's arrival in our state, Governor Walz announced Minnesota’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan. Keeping speed, equity, and safety in mind - the plan was made in partnership with the federal government to ensure we’re making the most of the supply we have now.
Our first supply of the vaccine is limited, so it will be delivered in phases to priority groups. The first phase – those in Group 1A – includes health care personnel and long-term care residents. Within this phase are sub-prioritization groups. Group 1B covers essential workers, including sectors like education, food and agriculture, utilities, police, firefighters, corrections officers, and transportation. Group 1C will include those 65 or older and those with underlying health conditions. In Phase 2, the vaccine will be distributed more broadly.
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