Judge orders Plainview, Minn. gym to close after it remained open during COVID-19 pause

PLAINVIEW, Minn. (FOX 9) - A judge has ordered the owner of a gym in Plainview, Minnesota to close its doors after the owners remained open during a COVID-19 pause issued by Governor Walz.

Gyms were among the businesses ordered to close last month for at least a month as Minnesota worked to slow a COVID-19 spike.

However, shortly after Governor Walz issued the executive order, the gym's owner made it clear they wouldn't close.

In a Facebook post on November 18, the same night Walz announced the four-week pause, the gym wrote: "The Plainview Wellness Center will NOT be closing! We ask that you please continue good sanitation practices, including cleaning all equipment when finished. Everyone is doing a GREAT Job and we appreciate you!!"

Wednesday, Attorney General Keith Ellison's office announced that a Wabasha County District Court had issued a temporary injunction forcing the gym to close. The order comes after Ellison filed a lawsuit last week against the gym for failing to comply with the executive order.

In a statement, Ellison wrote: “I’m glad the court recognized the seriousness of the pandemic and the firm legal foundation of the State’s efforts to halt the spread of it."

The gym's owners have launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for legal fees. As of Wednesday, that campaign has raised more than $12,000.