Minneapolis, St. Paul to require proof of vaccination for bars and restaurants

[Valin]

Alpha News

Both cities have also brought back mandatory masking.

Anthony Gockowski

January 12, 2022

Residents of Minneapolis and St. Paul will now be required to show proof of vaccination or  negative COVID-19 test results before entering bars, restaurants, and other venues.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter announced the new mandates at a joint press conference Wednesday.

The new requirement will take effect Jan. 19 for non-ticketed events and Jan. 26 for ticketed events, according to a press release from Carter’s office.

Negative test results can’t be more than 72 hours old; at-home tests won’t be accepted.

Frey stressed that the “policy is temporary” but did not provide an expiration date. Carter said the requirement will expire after 40 days in St. Paul.

Frey and Carter issued mask mandates for their cities on the same day last week.

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[Valin]

Show us your papers, or not?

Scott Jophnson

Jan. 16 2022

Cities including Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, and St. Paul have implemented vaccine mandates requiring vax cards to enter restaurants and other public places. The Star Tribune endorsed the Minneapolis-St. Paul mandates last week in the editorial “Lessons learned from vaccine mandates.”

RealClearPolitics thought highly enough of the Star Tribune editorial that it was included in its daily lineup. Star Tribune editorial page editor (and vice president) Scott Gillespie highlighted the editorial in his daily email, noting “[w]ith caveats, the Editorial Board voices its support today for new temporary vaccine mandates at Minneapolis and St. Paul restaurants and bars.” Gillespie’s email quoted from and summarized the editorial:

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Minneapolis and St. Paul residents who would like to dine out without showing their papers can still hit the drive-through or hike a few miles to Edina, or Bloomington, or Brooklyn Center, or Eagan, or Roseville, or Maplewood, or any of the many other suburbs that ring the Twin Cities. And let us not apply the disparate impact analysis that otherwise governs Minnesota discourse with an iron hand to decry the mandates as racist.

Seeking another side of the story, I turn to the concise column by Washington Examiner commentary fellow Zachary Faria. Faria asks how many more “temporary” Covid restrictions we need:

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At the risk of violating Godwin's law

 

History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.