September 24, 2020

• This week, Mayor Carter signed Executive Order 2020-27, extending the temporary permission, with some additional requirements, to business owners to facilitate commercial uses of outdoor space to serve customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • The new order allows sidewalk café and liquor outdoor service areas to operate in the public right-of-way, while seeking to ensure that the business's furnishings are removed from the public right of way once the snow season begins.

  • The executive order covers restaurants, bars, brew-on-premise, general retail and other businesses that have operated sidewalk cafes or served outdoors in the public right-of-way through issuance of a Temporary C-19 Sidewalk Café Permit. 

• Saint Paul - Ramsey County Public Health and the Minnesota Department of Health, in partnership with local community organizations, are offering free COVID-19 testing this week in Saint Paul.
  • Thursday, Sept. 24 and Friday, Sept. 25, 2 - 6 p.m. at the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church (451 Central Ave W).
  • Visit ramseycounty.us/testingsites for updates and registration links. If you are not able to sign up online, or need an interpreter, call 1-855-612-0677. Interpreters will also be available onsite.
  • Community testing is free. It does not require insurance, and is open to everyone, symptoms or no symptoms. No ID is required and registration is strongly recommended to reduce wait times.
• Starting tonight, Thursday, Sept. 24, Ramsey County will begin overnight paving on Larpenteur Avenue between Dale Street and I-35E in Saint Paul from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Work on the project is expected to last through late September. Learn more at ramseycounty.us.
• Ramsey County is hosting a Food Security & Basic Needs Community Conversation on Sept. 28, 4:30-5:30 p.m. The conversation will include an update on the county’s work to address the priority areas identified this spring through community engagement, including investing CARES funding in food and basic needs through RISE programs and contracts.
• Ramsey County has created a COVID-19 Business Recovery Guide. The new guide consolidates resources to help ready and recover your business and workforce from the impacts of COVID-19.
• The Twin Cities Electric Vehicle Mobility Network (TCEVMN) has been awarded $6.7 million by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) as part of its Advanced Innovative Vehicle Technologies program. The TCEVMN, led by the City of Saint Paul in partnership with the City of Minneapolis, Xcel Energy, HOURCAR, and East Metro Strong, will build 70 charging hubs in the two cities, primarily in the public right-of-way. These hubs, powered by renewable energy, will provide public charging for electric vehicles and will also host a new, one-way electric vehicle carsharing service operated by local non-profit HOURCAR. The award was the third-largest in the DOE’s $139 million announcement and will be administered by the Lung Association.
• Respond to the 2020 Census by Sept. 30. Respond online at 2020Census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020, or by completing and mailing back the paper questionnaire. The results of the 2020 Census will help determine how federal resources flow into our community every year for the next decade. To make sure that Saint Paul can access these resources, we need to make sure everyone is counted.

Important Links

stpaul.gov/coronavirus