DEVELOPING via sources: President Trump's campaign rally is moving again. A plan to hold a massive Friday event at a Dodge Center foundry fell through. Campaign looking back toward original plan of Rochester airport but not nailed down.
Conflicting reports over what led up to the shift that we're working to sort out. Size of the rally would have far exceeded Minnesota's 250-person guidelines.
The mayor of Rochester (@mayornorton), who chairs the city airport commission, and the Mayo Clinic, which co-operates the airport, have been insistent that the rally be kept within guidelines of 250 people max.
In first remarks since Wednesday, @GovTimWalz calls it "the most difficult week in Minnesota" in memory.
"What the world has witnessed since the killing of George Floyd on Monday has been a visceral pain, a community trying to understand who we are and where we go from here."
"The situation on the ground doesn't allow us right now to tackle those issues," Walz says. "We have to restore order to our society before we can start addressing the issues, before we turn back to where we should be spending our energy. Making sure justice is served."
Walz says tools that contributed to anguish are some of the same ones that will be used to restore order.
"I understand there is no trust in many of our communities."
Distinguishes between those expressing appropriate frustration and those tossing fire bombs into buildings.
It's distance learning from here on out, @govtimwalz is announcing this hour. Not sure whether we'll hear about the fall return, but I know it's on your mind (and mine).
"It seems almost unimaginable it's been four weeks since our stay-at-home order. Minnesotans have done what was asked of them as well as anyone in the country," Walz says.
Walz says Minnesotans still exhibiting "hopefulness."
"Minnesota has handled this in a very Minnesota way. We stayed home with social distancing; we flattened the curve. We brought businesses and government together to build partnerships. ... You've bought us time."
In on-camera briefing @GovTimWalz notes that today was Minnesota's single highest day of deaths and new case infections, but says that it's the trends that matter more.
Walz says the Midwestern+ compact of 7 states will work off common set of principles that align with some of the federal guidelines released Thursday. Each will work on own schedule.
"Those will not look the same in every state and we will not move in lockstep," he says.
"Tom, this is for you," Walz says, looking in @thauserkstp direction as he goes into the latest executive order to relax the stay-at-home for golf and other activities.