Court Ruling Opening Wisconsin Brings Concern, Trump Praise

A court ruling tossing Wisconsin's stay-at-home order threw communities into chaos Thursday as some bars opened immediately and were packed with customers while other local leaders moved quickly to keep strict restrictions in place amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court late Wednesday afternoon ruled that the "safer at home" order from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers was invalid and threw it out effective immediately. The order forces Evers to work with the GOP-controlled Legislature on a new plan, a process that could take weeks.

Evers and Republican leaders scheduled a Thursday morning meeting to discuss next steps.

The court ruling drew praise Thursday from President Donald Trump, who called it a "win" in a post on Twitter and added: "Its Democrat Governor was forced by the courts to let the State Open. The people want to get on with their lives. The place is bustling!"

The Tavern League of Wisconsin swiftly posted the news on its website, telling members, "You can OPEN IMMEDIATELY!"

Some bars did just that. Nick's Bar in Platteville, in far southwest Wisconsin, posted a 30-second video late Wednesday that showed the bar teeming with people drinking, talking and bobbing their heads to music. Bars in Appleton and Kaukauna in northeast Wisconsin also opened and were packed with people.

The party may be short-lived in Appleton. City officials signed an order Wednesday that took effect at 8 a.m. Thursday continuing the state's "safer at home" order. Other communities were taking similar steps, including Racine, Kenosha County and Brown County, home to Green Bay.

In Dane County, home to the capital of Madison, officials quickly imposed a mandate incorporating most of the statewide order until May 26. City health officials in Milwaukee said a stay-at-home order they enacted in late March remains in effect and does not have an end date.

Tom Diehl, president of the Association of Wisconsin Tourism Attractions, runs the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory and water ski show in Lake Delton, one of the state's key tourism destinations.

He plans next week to open the exploratory, an indoor attraction featuring some 175 interactive exhibits like giant levers and a mock-up of a Russian space station capusle. Diehl said he will put safety precautions such as social distancing and hand sanitizers in place for visitors.

"If Home Depot, Walmart and Costco can do it safely, we can do it safely as well," he said.

Diehl canceled the water ski show for the summer several weeks ago, however, and doesn't plan to bring it back because he doesn't believe people will feel safe enough to gather in a stadium to watch it.

"They're not going to venture out of their own locale until they're confident enough it can be done safely," Diehl said. "It's going to take time. "

Not everyone was moving quickly to reopen. Joan Dorsey, owner of the Settlers Inn restaurant in Cedarburg, said she hopes to offer carry-out service next week but it will be a while before dining inside is available.

"There's a lot of planning and ordering that goes into it," Dorsey said. "It's not going to be like it was. You don't just open the door and go back to where you were."

As the debate on how to manage the coronavirus has grown more partisan, Republicans in other states have made similar moves. In Kansas on Wednesday, top GOP lawmakers resisted Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's request to extend a disaster declaration to mid-June, with Senate President Susan Wagle declaring, "We won't allow one dictator to determine everything."

Democratic governors in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Louisiana have faced a mix of legislation and lawsuits aiming to curtail their power. A couple hundred people angry over Michigan's coronavirus stay-at-home order were protesting in the rain outside the state Capitol on Thursday. It was led by Michigan United for Liberty, a conservative activist group that has sued Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and organized or participated in several protests since early April.

Evers had been slowly easing restrictions on closed businesses in Wisconsin as the percentage of new cases dropped and other metrics that were a part of his reopening plan were met. Earlier this week, Evers allowed all nonessential retail businesses to allow up to five customers in a store at one time. However, bars and restaurants had been limited to offering only carry-out or delivery services.

As of Wednesday, there were nearly 10,100 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and 421 deaths, according to the state Department of Health Services.

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Associated Press writers Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, Doug Glass in Minneapolis and David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this report.