Ellison files suit to halt Winnebago New Year’s Eve event

WINNEBAGO, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says he wants to shut down a planned New Year’s Eve party in Winnebago because it violates Gov. Tim Walz’s executive order on activities that could hasten the spread of COVID-19.

Ellison said in a release Wednesday that the Carlson Event Center in the southeastern Minnesota town advertises the event as a “big new year’s dance” and asks attendees to bring their own beer and liquor.

Ellison said when a business “irresponsibly opens to the public to throw a dance party” it is “simply prolonging the pain of the pandemic for everyone.” Garth Carlson, owner of the facility, tells the Star Tribune that Ellison’s depiction of the event is wrong. Carlson calls it a “religious gathering.”