COVID 5 Years Later Series P4
- Shidonna Raven
- Mar 3
- 2 min read
By Jeremy Olson
MARCH 6, 2025
Source: The Minnesota Star Tribune
Photo / Image Source: Unsplash,
HOW COVID-19 CHANGED MINNESOTANS
A kickboxing nurse, a dancer who hopes to walk again, and a defiant bar owner reflect how the pandemic changed lives in Minnesota.
Lisa Zarza protested Minnesota’s approach, and it cost her the two bars she operated and her dream home in Lakeville, Minn.
She complied at first with state orders, closing Alibi Drinkery in Lakeville and Froggy Bottoms in Northfield in spring 2020 and gradually re-opening them with outdoor seating and indoor capacity restrictions. But she ignored Walz’s second shutdown order, arguing it was unfair to ban indoor seating at bars and restaurants during the holidays while retailers remained open.
Trouble is, she thought another 300 bars would join her. Only about 10 stayed open, and they were made infamous examples when Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison ordered them closed. Zarza later lost her liquor licenses over her stance.
“If we would have been 300 strong, I wouldn’t have lost everything,” she said.
A pandemic ban on evictions allowed her to keep her house for a while, but the mother of three eventually sold it after filing for bankruptcy. Zarza moved this winter to a mobile home in Wisconsin, where she has started over and opened Outpost Bar and Grill in Bay City, Wis., a popular stop for bikers and travelers.
Zarza didn’t vote before the pandemic, but has become political. Conservative media featured her during the election when Walz was running for vice president. She testified at a hearing last month on state legislation to limit lockdowns in future public health emergencies.
“I didn’t realize that I was going to make so many people hate me and love me at the same time,” she said.
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