Update: A Number of Businesses Still Planning to Reopen this Week

UNDATED -- The Minnesota State Legislature is expected to pass an emergency relief package later Monday to help businesses and workers impacted by the latest COVID-19 related shutdown. However, a group encouraging small businesses to open this week despite the governor's executive order says the state aid just isn't enough.

Virtually everyone said that would slow the bleeding a little bit, but the last nine months have been just too hard on them and they are too far in the hole to rely on some temporary relief.  It's got to be significantly more and the money just isn't there, the state is in a significant budget crunch.

Darius Teichroew is a spokesman for the group "Reopen Minnesota Coalition". He says they have about 150 businesses that have signed-on to open this week. He also says there are some rural businesses that have quietly remained open the whole time since the shutdown began three weeks ago and they've just remained under the radar.

An East Grand Forks restaurant that continued to host dine-in service in defiance of Gov. Tim Walz's coronavirus order has temporarily lost its liquor license. State officials suspended the license Sunday for the Boardwalk Bar & Grill.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has again delayed making an announcement on a possible extension of the latest COVID-19 related "pause" for businesses like bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, and fitness centers. Originally he was going to give an update last Friday, then move it to Monday, but now says he'll wait until Wednesday.

Teichroew says an announcement two days before the shutdown is set to expire is not fair to business owners.

If he's going to open Friday they need to already be making preparations for bringing employees back, buying products, and they just can't do that.  He abruptly shut them down four weeks ago and now he's potentially abruptly opening them up, though we know he's most likely not going to do that.

He says if word leaks out about the governor's intentions early ahead of his announcement on Wednesday they would be willing to wait until Saturday if the closures are allowed to expire then.