Monday, March 08, 2021

Quick Hits: Volume CCXLIII

Thus far there has been no guidance from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on how the local MLB club is to proceed regarding a limited number of fans in the stands. Since the DFL majority in the MN House is content to allow Walz to be a veritable ruler, one GOP legislator has a proposal to allow Minnesotans to see their favorite baseball club. 

 

State Representative Patrick Garofalo, R-Farmington, plans to introduce legislation that will allow the Twins to play their home games in Wisconsin during the pandemic if the state decides not to allow fans into sporting events during the pandemic. While the Twins have sent a plan to Governor Walz to host 26% of capacity at Target Field, there is no word if that plan will be allowed.

“Teams across the country have safely allowed fans at stadiums and even typically liberal states like Colorado have announced that fans will be able to enjoy outdoor baseball,” said Rep. Garofalo. “Releasing the Twins from any state contractual obligations to play in Minnesota, will give Minnesotans the chance to cross the river and cheer on the team. The Twins are not the only business having to tolerate the slow-moving Walz administration. This is illustrative of what the wedding planning, youth sports tournament and hospital industries have been dealing with. Minnesotans are ready to safely reopen many activities. It is time for Governor Walz to stop holding Minnesota back.”

Wisconsin health officials recently granted the Milwaukee Brewers to host games with more than 10,000 fans in attendance.


I like this idea and would absolutely be willing to travel across the river to see my Twins club in person. However, even if Target Field was allowed to have fans to full capacity, I personally am more likely to travel to see my favorite squad play in Milwaukee, Chicago or Kansas City before I'd set foot in downtown Minneapolis these days.  



- Another GOP retirement from the U.S. Senate. 





If you're keeping score, Blunt's announcement means that's now four Republican senators (in addition to Pat Toomey of PA, Richard Burr of NC and Rob Portman of OH) not seeking reelection in 2022. With the U.S. Senate deadlocked at 50-50, this pretty much means that the GOP has zero margin for error when choosing a respectable candidate to hold those seats. 


- Finally some CDC guidance for recipients of the COVID-19 vaccination. 

Fully vaccinated Americans can gather with other vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing, according to long-awaited guidance from federal health officials.

The recommendations also say that vaccinated people can come together in the same way — in a single household — with people considered at low-risk for severe disease, such as in the case of vaccinated grandparents visiting healthy children and grandchildren.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the guidance Monday.

The guidance is designed to address a growing demand, as more adults have been getting vaccinated and wondering if it gives them greater freedom to visit family members, travel, or do other things like they did before the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world last year.


This is welcome news, particularly when there has been sheer fecklessness on the issue from "experts" like Drs. Michael Osterholm & Anthony Fauci. I am especially ecstatic for the anguished grandparents who have been unable to hug their grandchildren for almost an entire year. 


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