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Small businesses are still reeling from the civil unrest and destruction that followed in the wake of George Floyd's murder nearly two years ago. Where is the public funding?
Imagine watching your business, your family's livelihood, something you'd built and hoped to pass down to your children one day, go up in smoke. Now imagine you must rebuild with little help from anyone.
This has been the harsh reality many Twin Cities small-business owners have had to face since 2020. The civil unrest of that summer caused more than $500 million in collective damage across the metro area, impacting many hundreds of businesses. Many were family-run operations, owned by low-income entrepreneurs, immigrants or families who are Black, Indigenous or people of color.
Insurance has covered anywhere from 0% to 40% of their losses. Often, affected businesses have not had enough equity to secure the financing needed to restore their operations. Meanwhile, there's a very real threat of longtime small businesses being unable to afford their neighborhoods if new buildings are constructed without support to preserve affordability.
This is what many Minnesota business owners have been facing for nearly two years. The question weighing on our minds is: Why hasn't our government responded adequately to meet these needs?
In the days following the civil unrest, we saw some of the best of Minnesota. People drove in from far and wide to sweep up sidewalks and clear debris. They donated food to local food shelves. They made donations large and small to support the neighborhoods and small businesses most impacted.