March 12, 2021 - Greater Mankato

12 Mar MN Governor Announces Changes to COVID restrictions

Posted at 16:38h in Advocacy, Business Development by Greater Mankato Growth 0 Comments

Today, Governor Walz announced reduced COVID-19 restrictions (Executive Order 21-11) for social gatherings, increases to business capacity limits, and increases to large venue capacity limits.

EO 21-11 Final Download

A summary was provided from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic development:

Effective Monday, March 15^th, at 12:00pm (Noon):

To make it easier to safely gather with family, we are doing the following:

Social gatherings: Up to 50 people outdoors or 15 people for indoor gatherings, both without household limits.
Religious services: Remove capacity limits but social distancing required.

12 Mar American Rescue Plan – Key Provisions Impacting Businesses

Posted at 14:58h in Advocacy, Business Development by Greater Mankato Growth 1 Comment

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This week, President Biden signed the $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan. This is the third major stimulus package passed by the Federal Government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While there has been much discussion about relief to individuals including a new round of $1400 stimulus checks & unemployment benefit extensions as well as increased funding for vaccine purchase & distribution, this blog post will focus on the relief programs impacting businesses including the creation of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, expansions and changes to the PPP & EIDL loan programs, and expansions and changes to the Employee Retention Tax Credit Program. The full text of the law can be found here.

Restaurant Revitalization Fund

Edit: An updated post specific to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund & how to prepare for an application can be found here.

Restaurants, bars, & other elligible entities will be elligible to apply for a grant equal to 2019 revenue minus 2020 revenue minus PPP loans already received.
- Businesses that opened in 2019 will determine their amount of grant eligibility by multiplying their average monthly gross revenue in 2019 by 12.
- Businesses that opened in 2020 that experienced operating losses will be elligible for a grant under a similar formula that covers losses incurred.
- Businesses that have not yet opened but that have already incurred payroll costs will be elligible for a grant that covers those expenses.
- *Note: Formulas for determining grant eligibility for all three above categories may be modified via SBA guidance.