first on decorahnews.com: City's new face mask mandate might not have as much impact on Water Street as you think

(Story by decorahnews.com's Sara Peterson and Paul Scott):

Decorah Mayor Lorraine Borowski on Monday signed the ordinance which will require people to wear face masks when they go into public buildings.

Decorahnews.com has taken a tour of public buildings along Water Street, collecting the existing face mask policies of 44 retail stores, restaurants and even a few offices.  Of the 44 businesses surveyed, 21 already have a policy in place requiring face masks when entering their building.  Eight other businesses encourage the use of face masks inside their business or restaurant.

Another six businesses are currently open only for carryout or by appointment.  That leaves just nine businesses on Water Street which appear not to have a requirement for wearing face masks.

Of course, there are more businesses within the Decorah city limits than those along Water Street.  But our sampling of businesses suggests that having a citywide face masks ordinance might not have a huge impact on the businesses which will be called upon to enforce it—because their own policies in many cases have required or requested the use of face masks.