Despite a recommendation from hospital and county health officials to keep the county mask mandate in effect until Jan. 18 to allow adequate time following all holiday gatherings the Brown County Commission voted 3-0 to rescind the mask mandate that has been in effect since Nov. 16.
This goes into effect on Monday â however, the mask mandate in the City of Hiawatha remains in effect until such time the Hiawatha City Commission would make a decision to rescind it. In addition, the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska has issued a statement that they are NOT rescinding their mandate and masks ARE required on the reservation.
While the Hiawatha City Commission voted to adopt an ordinance establishing a city land bank just a few moments prior, the appointment of trustees will wait at least another two weeks, as a split vote nixed the immediate selection of the presented candidates.
Commissioner Toni Hull stated clearly that she would vote against the list, as she felt the commission lacked input into how the group was comprised. Hull said that it is the commissionâs job to appoint trustees, and felt that the list did not reflect that. Mayor Bill Collins said that he had presented several names for the list and was told that they did not meet the qualifications outlined as experts. Hull and Collins both commented that they did not like the language used in the definition of expert, and both also noted that no realtors were included.