ST. PAUL, Minn. – Early in the pandemic, Minnesota Governor. Tim Walz tried to forge a unified multi-state regional response, but he Appears to have given up — at least regarding South Dakota. In a news conference Walz said the Sturgis motorcycle rally, which South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem endorsed, was “absolutely unnecessary.” The rally, which drew 450,000 bikers, turned out to be a super-spreader event with spillover into Minnesota. Walz said the Sturgis event could have been canceled or, at the very least, had a state-imposed mask mandate, as Minnesota has had. “This one’s a little bit personal because the governor of South Dakota has taken to traveling to other states and criticizing others — now at a time when that state’s hospital capacity is overwhelmed,” Walz said.