By Reed Anfinson
Publisher
Swift County Monitor-News
As worldwide attention was transfixed by the rapid spread of COVID-19, Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz weighed the authority vested in him under the state’s Constitution for emergency peacetime action. When those powers were written, they envisioned natural disasters like tornadoes, floods, and forest fires. Would they apply to a disease? The answer would come quickly.
March 6, 2020, the first case of the deadly disease was identified in the state. Seven days later, with 14 confirmed cases, Walz declared a peacetime emergency. March 15 schools were ordered closed to prepare plans for reopening safely. March 16, Walz signed an executive order “requiring the closure of bars, restaurants, and other places of public accommodation.” Over the next week, orders would follow that postponed elective surgeries and for stay-at-home orders.