Three Minnesota churches — Cornerstone in Alexandria, Land of Promise in Buffalo and Lifespring in Crosby — are asking a court to declare Governor Tim Walz’s mask mandate unconstitutional, and cancel church attendance limits and social distancing requirements. Attorney Eric Kaardal says “time-honored rites and rituals, including prayers, singing, communion, and a laying of hands in blessing, are among those elements that comprise the free exercise of religion.” The lawsuit contends wearing a mask makes those activities and receiving communion at church “more difficult and, at times, impossible.”
Attorney General Keith Ellison says he stands behind the legality and constitutionality of the governor’s order and “will defend it strongly in court just as we have so far successfully defended others in court.”