Local economy braces for coronavirus disaster

The Rock County economy — like the rest of the world — took a hit this week amid business disruptions due to the coronavirus.
The Centers for Disease Control recommended canceling or postponing events involving more than 250 people, and later lowered that number to 50. 
This affected local activities from school fine arts and athletic competitions to community fundraisers and church gatherings, each one representing lost financial opportunity.
For example, the Palace Theatre announced it would close to the public until April 1 — effectively eliminating the Green Earth Players spring production of “The Game’s Afoot.”
According to LaDonna Van Aartsen, treasurer for the Blue Mound Area Theater Board, revenue losses this month alone come to roughly $4,000, and that doesn’t count GEP receipts.
The Paws for a Cause fundraiser at Howling Dog Saturday was poised to raise $100,000 for pet rescue and adoption, and it had to be postponed, as did the annual Hospice Charity Dinner and Auction that routinely raises more than $50,000.
Hospice tickets will be honored at a rescheduled date and drawings for the Quilt & ‘Cash Prize’ raffles will be April 18 and winners notified on April 20. The list goes on.
Luverne Economic Development Authority Director Holly Sammons said she wonders how much damage will come to the local economy before the coronavirus passes.
“My mind keeps trying to decipher what this means to local business and small business owners,” she said. “It will no doubt impact the local businesses, so we as a community need to recognize how we can do our best to support each other during this downturn.” 
Business ground to a halt for Sue Ver Steeg’s Great Planes Travel in Luverne.
“This is prime travel time,” she said Friday. “If this happened a week later, it would have made my life a lot easier. … This is worse than 9/11.”
That day she was trying to help more than 150 travelers change plans as the coronavirus cases continued to spread across the globe. 
“I don’t mean to complain,” she said. “Because I’m thankful my loved ones aren’t sick.”
However, her work, which usually involves happy occasions, hasn’t been pleasant this week as she’s been on the phone with airlines, cruise lines and hotels to cancel trips. 
Most, she said, are providing credit for future bookings. “Hopefully all these people will get to use them,” Ver Steeg said. “I have to say, most people have been wonderful to work with. … We appreciate everyone’s patience.”
Sammons encouraged community support as well as social distancing.
“Everyone has a responsibility to take precautionary measures for themselves and their families,” she said. 
“But also be mindful of your neighbors and opportunities to help strengthen our business community.”
 
Don’t forget the farmers
As state and national leaders work on aid packages to support local economies, Rock County Farm Bureau President Peter Bakken hopes the ag industry isn’t overlooked.
“The livestock markets follow the Dow, and right now the livestock futures markets are in a huge free fall,” he said. “In terms of margins, working for free would be better than paying to work.”
He said the current $35 per hundredweight price dip translates to a negative $520 value on a 1,500-pound market steer. Meanwhile, boxed beef prices made a one-day record price jump of $16 Monday. 
“There is so much here that begs deeper discussion,” Bakken said.
While markets will likely stabilize in several months, he said cattle don’t wait.
“Livestock is a perishable commodity and cannot weather an extended length of recovery time,” he said.  
“We have been teetering on the edge of a bad farming economy already, and we can’t survive this. … As we work to stabilize the general economy, we need to not forget about the economic driver that ultimately feeds all of us.”