Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Here's your Capitol View.
A little bit of common ground at the Legislature. Tim Pugmire reports: "One thing Democrats and Republicans agreed on at the Minnesota Capitol after the legislative session ground to an unproductive halt early Monday: Things changed dramatically once the COVID-19 health crisis hit. And they said the pandemic had an enormous impact on what they were able to accomplish this year.
Paul Gazelka thinks remote negotiating made things difficult. “We did have one meeting where the four leaders got together yesterday (Sunday). So, that was a breakthrough, because you can see and hear and listen and feel what the four people think. Without that on a regular basis, it just made it harder,” the Republican Senate majority leader said.
Melissa Hortman had a slightly different take on how it went down. Via Tim, again: "Despite the rocky ending, DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman said lawmakers worked well together across party lines to pass the state’s initial responses to the pandemic, but she said that spirit fizzled later. Hortman said the health crisis struck at a critical time in the session, but she is proud of how the Legislature was able to adapt . 'We moved from being an in-person Legislature to a fully online and remote functioning Legislature in a very short period of time,' she said, 'faster than the U.S. Congress and faster than most Legislatures around the country.'”
And in Albany, Minnesota, a bar owner backs down. Via Kirsti Marohn and Tim Nelson: "A central Minnesota bar owner who vowed to open his business Monday in defiance of state orders has relented, as Minnesota’s ongoing COVID-19 shutdown of bars, restaurants and other public accommodations is heading for a legal battle."
It took a restraining order from the state's top lawyer. More from Kirsti and Tim: "Stearns County Judge William Cashman granted Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s request for a restraining order Monday. The judge ordered Schiffler not to defy Gov. Tim Walz’s executive order that forbids in-person dining at state bars and restaurants. ... Ellison asked in a Stearns County District Court filing for an emergency injunction and a $25,000 fine to prevent Schiffler from opening."
