KAAL-TV Created: January 28, 2021 06:15 PM (ABC 6 News) - In a ruling from the bench, a Freeborn County District Court has issued a fine of $9,000 against The Interchange Wine Bar & Bistro of Albert Lea. The fine is for violating the Court’s January 8, 2021 order that found The Interchange in contempt of court for willfully violating the Court’s December 23, 2020 temporary restraining order and imposed a fine of $3,000 a day for every day it continued to violate or threatened to violate applicable executive orders designed to stop the spread of COVID-19. Yesterday, The Interchange publicized on Facebook that it will hold an event on Friday, January 29 that will violate current Executive Order 21-01, which, among other requirements, mandates that bars, restaurants, and performance venues close for indoor, on-premises consumption of food and beverages by 10:00 pm and requires that restaurants only admit dine-in customers with reservations. For threatening to violate the executive order, The Interchange is in contempt of court. Accordingly, the Court imposed a fine of $3,000 a day for The Interchange’s violations of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.