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Legislative deadlines are approaching; this week is critical to moving forward on a reopening plan for Minnesota’s business community. Other states are already reopening.  Minnesota needs to open, too!

The following was taken from messaging received from the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce:

We’re a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and there finally seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. Minnesota’s COVID-19 cases are going down, vaccinations are going up and we’re on the path to protecting the state’s most vulnerable. As our situation improves, we look to state leaders and ask: What’s next for businesses? What’s the plan?

Businesses that were deemed essential developed detailed strategies to protect their workforce from the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring continuity of operations. Consumer-facing businesses and office locations have used this time to develop their own plans and procedures to reopen their doors and restart their operations safely and responsibly in line with the requirements of this “new normal.” We’re ready to reopen our businesses and to reopen safely.

Businesses have suffered enough in the last year. Gov. Walz owes it to these businesses to lay out a clear path to reopen the economy so businesses can plan for the future. Until then, employers are left asking the simple question: Where’s the plan?

Now’s the time to contact Gov. Walz and legislators and ask for a clear plan that balances business survival and the health of the public — including transparent COVID-19 case and vaccine distribution metrics — to safely reopen Minnesota for our employers, employees and for the state’s economy as a whole.

Contact Gov. Walz and legislators today and urge them to adopt a transparent reopening plan with date certainty so businesses can prepare for the coming months. For contact details, follow the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page or give us a call at 507-373-3938.

Shari Jenson

executive director

Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce