In announcing that Summerfest would be postponed for a second straight year Tuesday, the festival's CEO made it clear that Wisconsin's slow vaccine rollout was a major issue.
"While the progress made through the vaccine rollout is encouraging, we believe it is in the public’s best interest to hold the festival in September to give government leaders and healthcare organizations enough time to distribute the vaccine," Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Don Smiley said in a statement announcing that Summerfest would be moved to September, 2021.
Summerfest 2020 was originally rescheduled for September, too, before organizers cancelled it altogether.
Smiley's statement did not assign blame for Wisconsin's slow COVID-19 vaccine distribution, but the Evers Administration has faced intense criticism over its handling of the vaccines. Wisconsin has consistently ranked among the worst states at distributing the vaccines that it has been allotted. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Tuesday, Smiley expressed optimism that Wisconsin would eventually be able to provide a vaccine to everyone who wants one.
"We see a light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "We just need to see it a little closer up."
Dan O'Donnell covered this story extensively during his opening monologue Tuesday. Click on the player below to listen and click here to subscribe to "The Dan O'Donnell Show" on iHeartRadio.