The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners met on a Zoom video conference today to vote on whether or not to send an appeal to Governor Tim Walz in support of reopening businesses in the county.

The resolution was considering whether or not to send a message to the Governor imploring him to reopen businesses and to consider Beltrami as a rural county, separate from the Metro when regarding COVID-19 guidelines. The final decision on reopening is up to the Governor.

The board ultimately voted 3-2 against going forward with the motion. Board members Reed Olson, Richard Anderson, and Tim Sumner all opposed the plan, with Craig Gaasvig and Jim Lucachick voting for it.

The meeting and vote were slightly delayed this afternoon due to the initial Zoom meeting getting hacked, forcing board members to exit the video conference. The board plans on finding a new way to make meetings public without risk of hacking.

By — Nathan Green