Walz establishes emergency loan program for small businesses

Governor Tim Walz on Monday pledged to provide more help to Minnesota small businesses.

Under an executive order issued on Monday, the governor established an emergency loan program to provide up to $ 35,000 in loans to struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. The program, which leverages $ 30 million in special revenue funds from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, will provide $ 2,500 to $ 35,000 to small businesses in the state.

The loans will be 50 percent repayable, DEED commissioner Steve Grove said on the governor’s conference call Monday afternoon. Minnesota’s new loan program is separate from the Small Business Administration’s emergency loan program, which provides loans of up to $ 2 million.

Grove said the state’s program was aimed at helping businesses stay afloat while waiting for federal money.

“We know that funding can take a while to land, so the money may not come quickly enough to help small businesses in Minnesota,” he said. “What we have done under the direction of the governor is to find a way to close this gap.”

The state expects 1,500 to 5,000 businesses to take advantage of the new program.

Minnesota’s loan program also extends to independent contractors and freelancers, many of whom do not qualify for the state unemployment insurance program.

“We know that small businesses and independent contractors are among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis,” Grove said. “We get floods of calls from businesses and workers telling us they may have to shut down soon. We have evaluated all the options available to us to help.

For more information on the Minnesota Emergency Loan Program, visit the DEED website. More details on the SBA program are available here.

While many Minnesota businesses are temporarily closing their doors, the number of claims for unemployment insurance benefits continues to rise. Since last Monday, the state has received more than 123,000 requests, Grove said. It is against 95,000 Thursday.

Meanwhile, Walz issued three more decrees on Monday, one of which banned evictions during the coronavirus pandemic. The other two orders are mainly for the supply of masks and ventilators in the state. One of Walz’s new orders calls on all “non-hospital entities” to take inventory of their personal protective equipment, such as masks and ventilators. The other order called on vets to stop elective surgeries to conserve supplies of medical equipment.

In his conference call Monday, Walz stopped short of issuing a so-called “safe haven in place” order in the state, although the governors of Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan have done so. . The term, which stems from active shooter scenarios, would simply mean more restrictions on movement for residents, as well as the closure of “non-essential” businesses.

As of Monday afternoon, the data does not present a clear case to issue a shelter-in-place order in Minnesota, said Walz, who gave the conference by phone after one of his employees tested positive for COVID. -19.

“There is no clear answer on this,” Walz told reporters. “I read and listen to the experts the best I can. “