Lakeville, Minnesota. A Minnesota woman blames Gov. Tim Walz’s policies for the loss of two businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and commutes two hours out of state every day to fight for her “right to work.”
Lisa Zarza, who was born and raised in Minnesota and has worked in the bar and restaurant industry for 32 years, told Fox News Digital that she’s running her current establishment, Outpost Bar & Grill, in Wisconsin after being forced out of state by COVID-19 restrictions put in place by Gov. Walz.
“I have to commute two hours every day to have the right to work as an American citizen,” Zaza said, adding that he commutes two hours each way to work on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. “It was really hard at first. Every time I crossed the border, I would get choked up because it wasn’t fair.”
Zarza was previously the owner of the Alibi Bar and Drinkery in Lakeville and the Alibi at Froggy Bottoms in Wisconsin. In 2020, when Governor Walz ordered the closure of bars and restaurants in the state as part of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, Zarza defied the order and refused to close for two weeks to keep his business open.
Veteran Republicans wrote scathing letters to Walz calling his reputation “stolen,” while the Trump campaign blasted “Timothy the Crazy One.”
Lisa Zarza, a Minnesota native, spoke to Fox News Digital about why she decided to move her business to Wisconsin. (Fox News Digital)
After she refused to close her business, the state suspended her food service license and she was sued by both the attorney general and the Minnesota Department of Health, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, she says.
“On January 10th, all bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen. The state of Minnesota refused to issue me a food service license and I was operating illegally without a food service license even though I had never violated any food service regulations,” she said. “I was told I would be arrested or jailed if I didn’t close, and eventually, I closed down, I think in early April.”
Harris’ website still lacks policies, despite Walz saying “the American people have a right to know exactly what she will do.”
“When I cross the border, I feel really free,” she said. “Every time I cross this border, I give the finger to Minnesota and know I can work in Wisconsin.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz attends a rally in Philadelphia on August 6, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call)
Zarza decided to start his business in Wisconsin and has been working there for two and a half years, but he said he didn’t face any obstacles in getting his license.
Zarza said that when he found out Vice President Kamala Harris had chosen Waltz as her running mate, he “cried the whole way home from work, worried about what was going to happen to our country.”
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“That’s not the state of Minnesota. That’s not the kind of person we want in the White House. He’s not the patriot we represent,” she said. “I think Ms. Harris made a huge error when she chose her running mate.”
