Tag: July 4th

Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan Update: June 2, 2020

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July 2, 2020

Updates from the Governor

Minnesota families have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Governor Tim Walz, and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan announced a commitment by 31 Minnesota financial institutions to provide mortgage-relief options to customers facing financial hardship caused by COVID-19 for homeowners not covered by the CARES Act. This initiative will provide flexibility to Minnesotans who need help affording their mortgage payments during this unprecedented time.

Under this framework, participating financial institutions have agreed to offer the following relief options:

  • 90-day forbearance period for customers facing financial hardship caused by COVID-19 Participating financial institutions will offer mortgage-payment forbearances of up to 90 days to single- or multi-family mortgage customers directly impacted by COVID-19. The framework went into effect yesterday, July 1, 2020, so qualifying customers can begin applying for forbearance immediately.
  • Customers accessing forbearance will not be required to make a lump-sum payment at the end of forbearance plan Participating financial institutions will not require single-family customers who qualify for forbearance under this framework to make a lump-sum payment at the end of the forbearance plan. Instead these institutions will work with borrowers on repayment options, which may include:
    • Allowing customers to add the reduced or missed payments over the lifetime of their loans; or
    • Extending the maturity of the loan to make up for the missed payments.
  • No late fees or negative credit reporting for customers in a forbearance plan For single-family customers who are in an active forbearance plan under this framework, the participating financial institutions will:
    • Freeze all mortgage-related late fees for missed payments; and
    • Not report late or missed payments with credit reporting agencies.

More information is available here.

Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan wish Minnesotans a happy and safe Fourth of July this weekend. We know our celebrations will look a little different this year. And as COVID-19 cases surge in many states, we must take steps to protect our neighbors and loved ones. That’s why we are encouraging Minnesotans to wear a mask this holiday weekend. It is one of the simplest ways you can support local businesses and keep yourselves and others safe.

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Everyone can work to reduce the spread of COVID-19

  • Wear masks when in public. 10-50% of virus carriers are asymptomatic wearing masks helps control the virus and has been shown to lower COVID-19 spread.
  • Avoid enclosed spaces with groups of people, where the virus can linger in the air for long periods of time.
  • Get tested if you have cold or flu-like symptoms – Find testing locations.
  • Stay six feet away from others.
  • Cover your coughs and sneezes with your elbow or sleeve, or a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands afterwards.
  • Washing your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom or before eating. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
  • Avoid touching your face – especially your eyes, nose and mouth – with unwashed hands.
  • Up-to-date guidance is available from the Department of Health.

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Trump is headlining fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Experts worry two things could spread: virus and wildfire.

Washington Post logoNational Park Service and local fire marshal officials have warned for years about dangers in resuming fireworks at the memorial

President Trump is planning a massive fireworks display at Mount Rushmore on July 3, despite a decade-long ban on pyrotechnics at the iconic spot because of concerns about public health, environmental and safety risks.

Trump has wanted to stage fireworks at the national memorial in South Dakota’s Black Hills since 2018, according to two individuals familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. But the idea was scuttled or delayed by a number of his advisers, these individuals said.

The National Park Service stopped staging pyrotechnics at Mount Rushmore in 2010 out of concern that it could ignite wildfires under drought conditions. The memorial is surrounded by 1,200 acres of forested lands, including ponderosa pines, and lies next to the Black Hills National Forest’s Black Elk Wilderness. Continue reading.

Trump’s Independence Day salute: Five things to watch

The Hill logoPresident Trump is putting his imprint on Independence Day with the “Salute to America,” a spectacle that will include a speech, fireworks and a display of military hardware.

The president is promising “the show of a lifetime,” but the event is facing criticism from Democrats and advocates for national parks who say the celebration will focus more on Trump than the holiday at an exorbitant cost for taxpayers.

Here are five things to watch during Thursday’s festivities on the National Mall.

View the complete July 4 article by Brett Samuels on The Hill website here.

Trump asks for military tanks on the Mall as part of grandiose July Fourth event

Washington Post logoNational Park Service acting director Dan Smith faces plenty of looming priorities this summer, including an $11 billion backlog in maintenance needs as well as natural disasters such as the recent wildfire damage to Big Bend National Park.

But in recent days, another issue has competed for Smith’s attention: How to satisfy President Trump’s request to station tanks or other armored military vehicles on the Mall for his planned Fourth of July address to the nation.

The ongoing negotiations over whether to use massive military hardware, such as Abrams tanks or Bradley Fighting Vehicles, as a prop for Trump’s “Salute to America” is just one of many unfinished details when it comes to the celebration planned for Thursday, according to several people briefed on the plan, who spoke on the anonymity to speak frankly.

View the complete July 1 article by Juliet Eilperin, Josh Dawsey and Dan Lamothe on The Washington Post website here.

Trump to Hold Massive Partisan July 4th Speech in DC. He Hasn’t Bothered to Tell City Officials His Plans.

In a break from many decades of tradition, President Donald Trump will turn what has always been Washington, D.C.’s Fourth of July non-partisan celebration of America into a partisan celebration of Donald Trump.

Crowds are expected to be in the hundreds of thousands.

And the White House has not bothered to tell D.C. officials any of his plans, ABC News affiliate WJLA reports. The AP reports D.C. city officials are “in the dark.”

View the complete June 18 article by David Badash on the New Civil Rights Movement website here.