By Trina Thomas
More help is on the way for local businesses and non-profits, as the Lyon County Board on Tuesday approved the distribution of state funding for economic relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The State of Minnesota sent Lyon County $500,000 to allocate to businesses and non-profits that were affected by executive orders issued in response to COVID-19 restrictions. The funding was part of a $216.8 million economic relief package that was passed by the Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz.
After the legislation passed through the House of Representatives and the Senate, Rep. Dave Baker (R-Willmar) said in a news conference that the funding is all about people who are really hurting.
“Everyone knows the faster they move, the better our businesses will be and we will save more of them the faster we get it out. Legislatively, they have to have all the money out by the middle of March, but we certainly hope it’s going to be within a matter of weeks, not months …. Today’s a good day for business relief,” Baker said.
Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg spoke Tuesday about how the county is looking for applicants that may have fallen through the cracks in prior funding.
“The hope is that we’ll find those (applicants) that they missed, so if there’s someone or a business that maybe wasn’t directly impacted by an executive order but indirectly impacted, that’s what we’re trying to catch,” Stomberg said.
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.