Gov. Tim Walz’s executive stay at home order ended last night, and retail stores across the state are reopening to customer traffic for the first time since the order was passed six weeks ago.
Lexington Realty operates the Paul Bunyan Mall here in Bemidji, and Scot Snitker, the national portfolio manager, said the mall is taking precautions to keep the workers and customers safe.
Snitker added that while the mall’s doors will be open, the stores within the mall have had the option on whether or not to open today, and described today as a “soft reopening.”
Tracking each store’s capacity will be the responsibility of the individual stores within the mall, but Snitker doesn’t anticipate overcrowding will be an issue.
Salons, barbershops, dine-in restaurants and bars are still ordered to remain closed, but Walz said during his latest address that the goal is to have them reopened on June 1.
