OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) – Governor Tony Evers issued a new order Monday afternoon to allow nonessential businesses to perform non-contact services – like delivery and curbside pickup. But that caused a lot of confusion and frustration for one Oshkosh business owner.
Lisa Binning owns The Dog Depot on South Main Street in Oshkosh. Binning opened her business on Friday, April 24th following a new order from the governor allowing some businesses to conduct curbside operations. As far as she understood the order, groomers weren’t excluded from the order.
“Nowhere in it did it say dog groomers were excluded from that. It said curbside pickup with nonessential businesses,” said Mimi Binning, Lisa’s sister.
Lisa was taken into custody on Monday morning for repeatedly refusing to comply with the governor’s order. Her sister Mimi gave their side of the story.
“She said ‘Yes I’m open – I’m staying open, these are the things I’m doing. According to this paper, these are the things I’m supposed to do,’” Mimi said, “She took all of the precautions – with curbside pickup, she wears a mask, she wears gloves when she goes out to the cars. She put everything into place.”
But even then – Oshkosh Police and the Winnebago County District Attorney’s Office didn’t have the same perspective as the Binnings.
“This is the first time that we have had someone who was not willing to comply. Since March 25th, we’ve had 122 incidents revolving around the governor’s order,” said Officer Kate Mann.
“The Oshkosh Police Department then told her that she had to close. And Lisa said ‘No, I’m not doing anything wrong.’ The department then said she’s committing a crime,” Mimi told WTAQ News, “She still, right now, has no idea what crime she was being charged with. She doesn’t know.”
“She was ultimately referred in to the DA’s office for a charge of violating the Governor’s Order and we advised her that each day she continued to operate her business would be another referral charge,” Officer Mann explained, “We realize this is a really hard time for everyone. It’s affecting so many peoples lives and businesses. But the Governor’s Orders are trying to keep everyone safe and healthy.”
But just hours later during a briefing with the media, Governor Tony Evers flipped the whole situation on its head with an updated order.
“Whether you’re an upholsterer, a taxidermist, a dog groomer, or you rent recreational equipment like kayaks. You’ll be able to provide some of those services under our new order,” Evers said, “We still need you to help us make sure our workers and folks across our state can stay safe while supporting our local businesses.”
So we asked him directly about how this incident should be handled. The governor’s chief legal counsel Ryan Nilsestuen said it’s up to local officials to decide.
“When somebody is arrested or ticketed, then it’s up to the district attorney to execute their prosecutorial discretion on whether or not to enforce that,” Nilsestuen explained, “It’ll be up to the DA to decide on whether or not to move forward or take a look a the fact that soon, dog groomers across the state will be allowed to open.”
We called Winnebago County District Attorney Christian Gossett to see what he planned to do with the changes essentially making the referred charges a moot point.
“We’re not going to be issuing any criminal charges here,” Gossett immediately responded, “Technically, she did violate the order. She could be charged, but given the change with the Governor – we’re not out here trying to find ways to prosecute or arrest people. We’re trying to find ways to get through this all together.”
Gossett had no idea the governor was going to loosen up the rules Monday afternoon, and says the surprise announcements and changes can be a bit frustrating.
“They keep coming out without any notice to law enforcement or prosecutors,” Gossett told WTAQ News, “I have to wonder though what was going on at the governor’s end of things. I wonder when they knew they were going to change the rules – because if we would have known, that could’ve help with compliance. We could’ve gone to her and said ‘hey, the governor’s going to change the order.’”
While Gossett says there won’t be any issues for Binning going forward, she would have to appeal to the Health Department to get her license back after the debacle.
“Dog groomers and animal groomers are going to be able to open for curbside service on Wednesday, and I don’t know if she’ll have her license back or not. She’s going to have to appeal to the Health Department,” Gossett said.
But Monday night, the Winnebago County Health Department announced it will reinstate Dog Depot’s grooming salon license effective Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. to coincide with the start of the new order.
Binning has received a number of financial donations to fund her legal fees. But she never planned to utilize those funds for herself and plans to donate all of those proceeds to a dog rescue.
If you have questions about how to take necessary steps to keep your business, workers, and customers safe – visit wedc.org.
