Evolving COVID-19 Response

Hello Moorhead Businesses & Community Leaders,

To best serve businesses and communities dealing with the threat of COVID-19, Downtown Moorhead Inc. (DMI) and the Moorhead Business Association (MBA) are closely monitoring the status of financial resources to support you. While you should continue to receive your public health information from the City of Moorhead, Clay County Public Health Department, Minnesota Department of Health and the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DMI and MBA will provide you with important information pertaining to both state and federal resources available to businesses and communities affected economically as a result of this public health threat.

We are dedicated to identifying resources currently available to you, and we are closely monitoring proposed federal resources as they become available and will be prepared to interpret and apply that information for your benefit. The first stop should always be your lender. Currently, federal agencies are working to offset the economic impacts of this pandemic and some of the quickest ways of doing this are directly through local lenders. For this reason, they may well have the quickest response to assist you.

An emerging program option from the Small Business Administration (SBA) is the Small Business Disaster Loan. With passage of the supplemental appropriation, the SBA was provided funding to distribute through their disaster relief program.  These loans can be used under the following guidelines. 

• ·         Loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid due to the disaster’s impact. 
• ·         Up to $2m Per Business
• ·         3.75% interest rate for small business and 2.75% for non-profits 
• ·         May be able to pay back over a 30-year term depending on borrower ability to repay
• ·         Applicants must not be eligible for other loans
• ·         This is a direct loan from the SBA and online applications are available at www.sba.gov/disaster

We are also monitoring state resources to specifically assist businesses and communities that have suffered economic loss relating to COVID-19. The MN Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has an easy-to-navigate business resource web page (https://mn.gov/deed/) that aggregates important information like the Unemployment Insurance Benefit Program and other relative information to COVID-19 economic resources.

In addition to keeping you updated on the most current information, we’d like to hear from you as to how we can help. With a better understanding of this situation, we can better inform both the federal, state, and local programs that are emerging to address this pandemic and its impact on the economy.  Send your messages to Derrick LaPoint (dlapoint@dtmoorhead.org) and/or Sheri Larson (sheri@mhdmba.org).  

As always, DMI and MBA are in constant communication with the City of Moorhead and their leadership team. We know that we cannot get through this alone and strong partnerships will prevail. In addition to the information included in this email, you will be notified as further details and resources become available in the coming days. It is our privilege to serve you during times of prosperity and challenges alike.

All the best,                                                                                                               

Derrick LaPoint                                                          Sheri Larson

President/CEO                                                            Executive Director

Downtown Moorhead Inc.                                         Moorhead Business Association

218-443-1361                                                              218-284-4643