NW Minnesota News

The House and Senate Rural Caucus are challenging Gov. Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order extension, questioning if it’s the best fit for rural areas in Minnesota. 

The caucus wrote a letter to Walz on April 10, encouraging him to rethink the extension. 

Sen. Mark Johnson signed the letter and said in a statement via the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus, “We recognize the tremendous public health crisis that Minnesota is facing and the evolving situation the governor’s administration is handling. But we urge Gov. Walz to recognize that Greater Minnesota has a much lower population density than the metro area, and will ultimately have a different risk profile. A blanket order for the entire state may not be the appropriate response for our citizens. Minnesota can preserve public health without a complete shutdown certainly, and the current guidelines should be modified to recognize the balance between safety and our economy.”

The letter garnered 44 signatures as the legislators said while they salute the governor’s consideration for the people of Minnesota, they added that rural neighborhoods rely on the connection that it has with others, and can suffer detrimental impacts if they’re closed for too long.

They argued that reports show that urban areas in the state are more impacted and that rural communities don’t necessarily have to be included in the blanketed stay-at-home order. 

“This data, if broken down on a county-by-county level, undeniably shows a concentration of cases in the Metro and stress on this specific region of Minnesota. If you continue to use data as support for your executive orders, please utilize all the data you have at hand, showing rural communities have significantly fewer cases and cause for concern," the letter stated.

Rep. Eric Lucero, Sen. Bill Weber, Rep. Marion O’Neill and Rep. Lisa Demuth are just a handful of the legislators who signed the letter.

Read the full letter and see all of the signatures here.