Sunday's loss of life in Brooklyn Center can only be described as devastating and heartbreaking. MnRA prays for the family of Daunte Wright and the community as it deals with this tragic officer-involved death. We support the right of Minnesotans to peacefully protest for change.

Over the course of the day we fielded calls from retailers in disbelief of what happened on Sunday afternoon. While we don't have all the answers, we join Minnesotans in recognizing change is needed.

Out of caution and concern for employees and customers, MnRA provides the following updates for retailers concerned about the potential for unlawful activities not connected to peaceful protests:

• CURFEWS 7:00 PM TO 6:00 AM: Some local governments are instituting curfews for tonight from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., including Minneapolis and St. Paul. In addition, the Governor instituted the same curfew for all of Ramsey, Dakota, Hennepin and Anoka counties. Please check with your local government for times and updates on how curfews impact employee travel to and from work. Curfews are likely to be enforced as prevention. Also, we recommend you adjust your closing time to allow your employees time to get home before 7:00 p.m. in impacted areas.

• LAW ENFORCEMENT PRESENCE: According to the plans discussed this afternoon by the Governor and key officials, this evening metro-area law enforcement is positioned to enforce curfews as a means to identify and deal with potential vandals and looters. Please take a moment to remind your employees of the importance of obeying the curfews as a tool to separate those peacefully protesting and living their lives from those committing unlawful acts.

• POP UP LOOTING: According to law enforcement officials, they are preparing to respond to pop up looting and property damage around the metro, not just in Minneapolis and St. Paul. As a precaution, we recommend all metro stores consider appropriate actions to safeguard your employees, customers and inventory. We are seeing some stores announcing early closures and enhanced communications with local law enforcement

Please join us in thought for the Wright family and all of Minnesota.

David Ring has been elected chair of the Minnesota Retailers Association (MnRA). Late last year at a meeting of the MnRA membership Ring was selected to lead the organization representing 1,200 retail stores across Minnesota. The volunteer leadership role is for one year and encompasses leading a group of two dozen Board members and a staff focused on growing Minnesota’s retail economy and jobs while working through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ring--who was born in Albert Lea--is community and government relations manager at Kwik Trip, Inc., where he has worked with community leaders and elected officials across the Midwest since 2010. Kwik Trip employs over 6,700 co-workers and operates nearly 200 convenience stores in Minnesota, with over 750 total stores when including Wisconsin and Iowa.  Kwik Trip was named a MnRA Minnesota Retail Champion in 2018 as a Best Place To Work and received similar recognition in 2021 as a recipient of Glassdoor Employees’ Best Places to Work award. Kwik Trip’s family-owned company operates its own production and distribution facilities, transportation company, food safety lab, shares 40% of its pre-tax profits with its 29,000 co-workers, and is known for its clean stores, fresh daily delivered foods, innovative products, and streamlined, sustainable business practices.

“I’m honored to be selected Board chair and look forward to working with our members to continue to tell the story of the importance of retail across Minnesota,” Ring said. “Over the course of my career I have learned firsthand that the closer we work together, the better the opportunities are for each and every community. Our work at the Minnesota Retailers Association has never been more vital and we will be laser focused on shared goals as we do our part to help in Minnesota’s pandemic recovery.”   

Ring succeeds Lisa Nelson with Walmart, who chaired the Board for 2020.

“As an organization we are pleased to have Dave’s leadership at this critical time in our economic recovery. Dave has spent a lifetime bringing people together to work on areas of common interest. That type of work and culture at Kwik Trip is core to who Dave is, and his service as Board chair could not come at a better time,” said MnRA staff president Bruce Nustad. “And we thank Lisa for her strong and decisive leadership during one of Minnesota’s most challenging economic periods due to the pandemic. Lisa brought important Walmart insights and her own perspectives working across the country to her role as Board chair, and we are so grateful.” 

The Minnesota Retailers Association supports retailers to the benefit of their customers, their communities, their employees, and our state economy. Retail impacts one in five Minnesota jobs. Learn more at www.mnretail.org. 

Contact:
Savannah Sepic
Minnesota Retailers Association 
400 Robert Street North, Suite 1540, St. Paul, MN  55101 
Tel. (651) 227-6631, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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