Gov. Tim Walz will be hosting a press conference at 8:30 a.m. at the Austin National Guard Armory.

The announcement came during the Mower County Board’s emergency session held Friday afternoon.

Walz will brief the press on the state of emergency that was declared Thursday, which allowed the Minnesota National Guard to assist law enforcement agencies statewide in response to this week’s storms that severely damaged power grids in the region, leaving more than 8,000 county residents without power.

The event is open to the public.