Governor Mark Dayton has issued a statement calling for all Minnesotans to join the nation to observe a moment of silence on Friday, December 21, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. CST, in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Dayton also requested that churches and government buildings with bells to ring them 26 times at that moment to commemorate the 20 students and six staff members who were killed at the school.