The latest entry in the “you can’t make this stuff up” department comes from northern Minnesota. An annual rodeo went on to the usual packed house after its owner decided to openly defy Governor Tim Walz’ restrictions on mass gatherings.
Since June, Minnesota has limited all indoor gatherings to 250 people or fewer. That didn’t sit well with the organizer of the North Star Stampede in Effie, between Duluth and Grand Rapids. He openly called for people to pack the place anyway.
"Thanks to John Olson from the Mn Dept. of Health and Jason Pleggenkuhle from the Attorney General's office pushing their political agendas, The North Star Stampede will take place with no spectators. If people would like to come and protest against this ridiculous Government Over Reach, feel free to do so, I will not stand in the way of peoples 'Right to Assemble,'" wrote Cimarron Pitzen, who hosts the annual event, on Facebook.
Thousands obliged. Watch footage from WCCO-TV in the Twin Cities here.
You can count the number of people wearing masks on one hand. Pitzen attempted to cover himself by posting signs that those who attended did so “by your own choice and at your own risk.” He told WCCO-TV that he wasn’t going to stand in the way of people assembling peacefully, and claimed that Walz’ measures were government overreach.
This comes just weeks before schools reopen. Even without that to consider, it’s a near-mathematical certainty that people are going to get sick. And if that happens, even if there’s no legal way to do so, Pitzen must be made to answer for it.