TRAGIC

Minnesota State Senator Dies of COVID After Attending GOP Party

Several lawmakers contracted the virus after attending the post-election dinner at a suburban restaurant.

A Minnesota state senator died this week of COVID-19 complications after attending a post-election dinner with other lawmakers who have since contracted the virus. Jerry Relph, a 76-year-old former tax law attorney, was hospitalized in early November after the party at a suburban restaurant, Minnesota Public Radio reports. “I’m heartbroken to share that my husband, Jerry Relph, has passed away and entered his heavenly home. Jerry was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather,” Pegi Broker-Relph, his wife, said in a statement on Friday. Several lawmakers who attended the dinner had criticized COVID-related business restrictions despite record-high numbers of cases and diminishing space in many hospitals. Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, who also contracted COVID after the dinner, wrote on Twitter that Relph was “a true friend and colleague loved by so many.”