EITZEN, Minn. – The mayor of Eitzen denied that a state health-survey team was ever threatened by townfolks. Jeffrey Adamson called for an apology from the state Health Department, which shut down its state-wide COVID-19 study after three field workers reported a racially tinged confrontation. The mayor issued a statement that this actually is what happened: Concerned citizens called city officials because an unmarked vehicle with California license plates was going door-to-door asking residents to participate in a study. Two vehicles, driven by a city official and an Eitzen resident, parked near the field workers’ vehicle, but, he emphasized, never blocked it in. One of the men wore a fire department radio in a holster, not a gun, as the state field team later reported. After properly identifying the team, they were left to continue conducting their research within the city. Mayor Adamson said the team was never treated hostility: “This situation was handled professionally, courteously, and unbiased with no racial slurs, threats or inappropriate comments made.”
Earlier: Health agency perplexed at survey antagonism
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Mayor: “In a very small town where everyone knows everyone, a group of unfamiliar people with out-of-state plates is unusual, and to some residents is cause for concern.”