Brandon residents divided on potential mask mandate

By: 
Keeley Meier, staff writer

BV Journal file photo 

Wes DeWitt leads the Brandon Valley High School student fan section in ‘The Wave’ during the 11AAA state football championships Oct. 14 at the USD Dakota Dome. Students and most fans donned masks.

On Nov. 16, the Brandon City Council put the issue of a mask mandate on the table.
 
Toward the meeting’s end, Mayor Paul Lundberg brought up the topic as an informal discussion, asking council members to weigh in. 
 
“I think it’s prudent for the city of Brandon to, at least, look at this topic—see if there’s any discussion, if any council members have any comments or positions on the mask mandate ordinance,” Lundberg said.
 
After a 13-minute discussion, Alderman Jack Parliament asked that the issue be placed on the Dec. 7 agenda. 
 
The conversation between council members at the meeting was civil and a fairly even split between those in favor and those opposed.  
 
However, the mask mandate isn’t just of interest to the council; it’s also of interest to Brandon citizens, who weighed in with their opinions through Facebook and email. 
 
“I work in a clinic and we wear masks to protect our patients and ourselves,” Evangel Graham Wehrkamp said. “If we get sick, we can’t be there for our patients. Do they protect 100 percent? No. But if we can minimize the risk of transmitting the virus, then we have accomplished our purpose.”
 
“I moved here in June and am horrified at how this pandemic has been handled here,” Halley Basche said. “I rarely see masks on residents in businesses around town; sometimes I’m the only person in the store wearing one, including workers. We need change fast. If our governor won’t do anything to protect us, at the very least our city should!”
 
Some residents took an opposite stance. 
 
“I do not think we need our local officials or government telling us what to do in this situation,” Mike Swan commented. “I feel they can make recommendations, not mandate when we wear something. We are adults and can make educated decisions based on the information given. Please do not condemn a person for not wearing a mask. You do not know their situation, there could be a number of factors and they should not have to explain themselves.”
 
“No mask mandate,” Erin Remley said. “I will wear my mask because it is what I choose to do. I will live and exist within the tolerances of my own risk. I have asthma, so I choose to go out less and wear a mask. That doesn’t mean my neighbor needs to do the same. I sure as heck don’t need a government official telling me that I have to wear one or give them the power of the law to arrest and fine me for not doing so.”
 
Gov. Noem weighs in on mask mandates
 
During a Nov. 18 press conference, Gov. Kristi Noem updated South Dakotans on the measures being taken and urged citizens to practice common sense steps, such as washing hands, practicing good hygiene, staying home if sick and being careful around vulnerable populations. 
 
According to Noem, as of Nov. 18, South Dakota has been performing 5,800 COVID tests per day along with mass community testing that resulted in a 10 percent positivity rate. 
 
Noem went on to defend her choice of not passing a statewide mask mandate.
 
“Some have said that my refusal to mandate masks is a reason why our cases are rising here in the state of South Dakota, and that is not true,” Noem said. “Others have said that my refusal to advance harsh restrictions like lockdowns is another one of the reasons why our cases are rising, and that is also not true. There are 41 states that have some kind of a mask mandate; cases are on the rise in 39 of those 41 states. Now, some in the media are saying that South Dakota is the worst in the world right now, and that is absolutely false.”
 
A news report on South Dakota’s rise in COVID cases on CBS This Morning on Monday, however, told the opposite. The report included comments from Sioux Falls residents, Mayor Ten Haken, Sanford president/CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft and Allison Suttle, Chief Medical Officer of Sanford.
 
Noem said she doesn’t believe she has the authority to mandate masks and that South Dakotans can use their “personal responsibility to make a decision when it comes to masks.” 
 
Noem also addressed the accusation that she did not adhere to the rule that face coverings must be worn in all public indoor spaces at the University of South Dakota while she attended the state high school football championships. 
 
“I did wear a mask at the USD Dome and people that were there will tell you that I did the entire time until a group of young boys asked me to take a picture with them without a mask on,” Noem said. “But, I did follow the Board of Regents policies and I do wear a mask where it’s appropriate and then I don’t when I’m out in other places outside and in smaller groups and with my family.”
 
Prior to the press conference, attendees at the DakotaDome took photos of Noem unmasked in multiple locations and posted them to social media. 
 
Current case numbers
 
As of the morning of Nov. 23, there are 73,848 active coronavirus cases in South Dakota. A total of 819 deaths have been reported—404 of those deaths have been reported since Nov. 1. 
 
News outlets, such as National Public Radio, reported that both South and North Dakota had the most new daily cases of COVID per capita of any of state during the week of Nov. 14. Additionally, NPR reported that both states are among the worst in the country for both per capita deaths and per capita hospitalizations. 
 
As of Nov. 22, there are over 12 million active coronavirus cases in the United States with the death toll reaching 257,000. Worldwide, the death toll has reached 1.39 million. 
 
Back to Brandon
 
Among the comments from Brandon residents, some believe that the City Council should call a special meeting to address the mandate sooner than Dec. 7. 
 
“We should have had one long before this!” Stacey Darger Donovan commented. “And waiting until Dec. 7 is too late. They should call a special meeting and put it in place now! It’s not like people don’t have access to masks or there is some question on the science behind them.”
 
Pat Kohnen agreed, saying, “Many will become ill or even die if waiting until Dec. 7. People need to be caring for their neighbors and not selfish.”
 
Residents like Dan Elliott say that masks are not a solution to the pandemic. 
 
“I get that we all want to feel like we’re doing something, but masks aren’t a solution,” Elliott said. “The truth is there is no easy solution. All we are doing is giving our government precedent and creating more and more division over something that is totally ineffective. I think of all the people I see wearing masks, maybe 10 percent are worn properly without gaps. If this virus is in aerosol form, they are useless.”
 
Michael Nitz, Ph.D., is a professor of communication studies at Augustana University and is a resident of Brandon. 
 
“I think mask mandates are a waste of time and energy,” Nitz said. “They have created lots of division. On one side, you’re a virtue signaler: ‘Look at me, look how good I am, I’m wearing a mask.’ On the other side, people look at somebody without a mask and think they don’t care. I think both of those are false assertions.” 
 
Nitz says he is not an “anti-masker” but rather a “masks-plus person.”
 
“I strongly believe in the Swiss cheese model. Masks are a layer, and the mask mandaters are focusing exclusively on that one slice of cheese, so to speak. But you need more than one slice of cheese,” Nitz said, referencing the “Swiss-cheese model” that says you need additional layers of protection against the spread of the virus, such as social distancing, disinfecting and hand washing. 
 
Nitz, who teaches at a university that requires masks in all indoor, public spaces, says he has read over 100 articles—primarily medical journals—on masks and has used some of these articles in his classes of research methods, public relations, science communication and health communication. 
 
“I have yet to find one article that says cloth masks alone are better at reducing the harms of coronavirus,” Nitz said. “I found a good handful that say masks plus.”
 
Nitz also said that the practical implementation of a mask mandate is not sustainable. 
 
“You see that with the Sioux Falls ordinance, which I think is ridiculous. Why? Because there’s no enforcement.”
 
For Nitz, aggressive public mask campaigns don’t work. Instead, he prefers signs and billboards with clever slogans. He said while visiting New Mexico this summer, which is notorious for its alleged aliens drop-bys, he saw a billboard that said, ‘Thank you Masked Visitors’, which featured aliens wearing face masks. 
 
For others, though, mask mandates are about neighbors helping neighbors.
 
“I wish we all were willing to do everything possible to protect each other without mandates, but we obviously are not doing that. Therefore, I support a mandate,” Jim Irby said. 
The comments under the informal polling Facebook post quickly turned to arguing, but resident Alica P. Thiele threw in a comment to provide some levity: “I don’t mind at all wearing a mask. I object to wearing a bra, though, but wear one for the benefit of others.”
 
Despite the varied opinions, Mayor Lundberg says that the mask mandate topic will be on the Dec. city council agenda and that he expects the council to discuss action at that time. 
“The administration, city council, and myself are analyzing all information to make the best decisions for the people of Brandon,” he said.
 

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