South Hennepin News

Many Minnesota business owners, who have been deemed nonessential under executive orders issued by Gov. Tim Walz, claim they are being threatened with fines if they decide to reopen before next month.

“By picking winners and losers, the governor is forcing many Main Street business owners into bankruptcy,” Rep. Ron Kresha (R-Little Falls) told CBS Minnesota. “It’s truly a shame that these folks are now receiving threats from the Attorney General’s Office when all they want to do is safely serve their neighbors, earn a living and keep their community afloat.”

Kresha is one of numerous Minnesota House Republican lawmakers who sent a letter to Attorney General Keith Ellison asking if the office was actually threatening nonessential business owners with fines that could amount to $25,000 per violation.

“We would like to think the Attorney General's office has better things to do than to financially punish people who have gone without a paycheck for nearly two months,” the letter states. “The reality is, when a Main Street business in rural Minnesota shuts down, it never reopens. When they are forced into closure by their state government, the likelihood increases that their closure will be permanent. These are desperate times in rural Minnesota.”