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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Effie rancher settles COVID lawsuit with state

David Colburn
Posted 6/23/21

EFFIE- The only clouds hanging over the head of Cimarron Pitzen as he prepares for the 66th annual edition of the North Star Stampede next month will be the ones nature sends his way, as Pitzen and …

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Effie rancher settles COVID lawsuit with state

Posted

EFFIE- The only clouds hanging over the head of Cimarron Pitzen as he prepares for the 66th annual edition of the North Star Stampede next month will be the ones nature sends his way, as Pitzen and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office reached a settlement last week in the COVID-related civil lawsuit Ellison filed against Pitzen after last year’s event.
“Today we have reached a settlement with the state of Minnesota in the ridiculous lawsuit it brought against us,” Pitzen said in a statement posted to Facebook on June 17. “We admitted NO GUILT WHATSOEVER. With the minimal amount we have to pay and our defense fund being exhausted, it made sense to settle the case now.”
The controversy erupted from discussions between Pitzen and state officials last July about how the three-day event that typically draws thousands to the tiny Itasca County community of Effie could proceed. Pitzen was told he had to limit daily attendance to fewer than 150 spectators to comply with a 25-percent capacity limit in Gov. Tim Walz’s executive order detailing mandated COVID-19 restrictions for large entertainment venues and events.
The news didn’t sit well with Pitzen, whose family has staged the annual rodeo since 1955. In response, he turned the event into a protest.
“The North Star Stampede will take place with no spectators,” Pitzen wrote on the rodeo’s Facebook page. “If people would like to come and protest against this ridiculous Government Over Reach, feel free to do so, I will not stand in the way of people’s ‘Right to Assemble.’”
Hundreds of people, many with protest signs, filled the stands of Pitzen’s arena all three days of the event, not to capacity but well in excess of the limits established by Walz’s order.
State officials were there, too, and on July 31, 2020, Ellison filed a 26-page civil lawsuit against Pitzen’s North Star Ranch LLC in Itasca County District Court, alleging ten separate violations of the order, including such things as failure to limit occupancy to 25 percent of capacity, failure to provide for assigned seating to ensure proper social distancing, allowing the rodeo clown to engage in demonstrations and activities, and failure to ensure social distancing was maintained between household groups. Violations of Walz’s executive order carried with them the potential of a $25,000 fine.
Pitzen’s supporters quickly rallied around him, setting up donation sites and a GoFundMe site online to collect contributions for a legal defense fund. The GoFundMe site alone raised $22,410 from 347 donors.
Pitzen enlisted the services of Minneapolis attorney Paul Dworak, of Newmark Storms Dworak, a recognized and successful expert in free speech and civil rights cases.
“Cimarron and I were hoping for a jury trial,” Dworak told the Timberjay on Monday. “We wanted the people of Itasca County to let the state know what they thought of its lawsuit.”
However, after dragging on for nearly a year, with limited financial resources remaining and COVID restrictions no longer an issue, Pitzen and Dworak decided to pursue a settlement.
“Unfortunately, it costs a lot of money to get a civil case to a jury,” Dworak said. “Thus, once it became clear the executive orders were no longer going to affect this year’s rodeo, we negotiated a settlement wherein North Star paid a small fine, which was about as much as the cost of one deposition. North Star did not and would not admit any wrongdoing.”
“Not surprisingly,” Dworak added, “the state never produced any evidence showing that any person contracted COVID-19 because of this outdoor rodeo protest.”
Pitzen’s statement included expressions of gratitude for the support he received.
“I would like to thank the hundreds of good people who donated to our fight against the state and have stood with us,” he said. “I would like to thank our attorney, Paul Dworak, and especially our local law enforcement, Itasca County Sheriff (Vic) Williams and his staff and Aitkin County Sheriff (Dan) Guida for their support over the last year. It is nice to know we live in an area where we don’t defund our LEO’s, but rather defend them and support them. I am looking forward to seeing all of you July 23-25 for the 66th annual North Star Stampede.”
While the Attorney General’s office issued a lengthy announcement of its lawsuit on their website on July 31, 2020, no similar announcement regarding last week’s settlement agreement had been posted as of Wednesday morning. The Timberjay attempted to contact the AG Deputy Chief of Staff John Stiles via email this week to comment on the settlement, but no response had been received by Wednesday’s press time.