Albert Lea restaurant owner found guilty of violating state COVID mandate

• The owner of a wine and beer bar who openly flouted Gov. Tim Walz's executive orders to shut down last winter during the COVID-19 pandemic was found guilty of six criminal misdemeanor counts Thursday by a Freeborn County jury. Lisa Hanson, 57 was sentenced to 90 days in jail, which began immediately, and a $1,000 fine, considerably more than what Albert Lea City Attorney Kelly Dawn Martinez, who prosecuted the case, had sought.