Governor Mark Dayton says he’s setting up a task force and will have legislation, following a Star Tribune report detailing abuse and neglect at senior living facilities in Minnesota. The governor says, “Some of the acts that were reported are criminal acts, and I’m at a loss to understand why they aren’t reported immediately as criminal acts to law enforcement agencies, rather than being taken by the Department of Health and handled internally.” Dayton is calling on the care industry to step forward and take responsibility. He says such incidents “shouldn’t be tolerated” and the state must “change that ethic that people think they can do that and get away with it.”
Here are the governor’s comments at his Wednesday morning news conference: