The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, revisited the question of whether or not masks should be mandated in the County. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Tuesday, implored Iowans to use a mask, due to the daily increases in positive COVID-19 test results and hospitalizations. The Board has received at least two of e-mails on the matter. Board Chair Steve Baier said there’s more each person needs to do to quell the spread of the virus, aside from wearing a mask or face shield.

In fact, Governor Reynolds, as we’ve mentioned, issued a new proclamation Tuesday, asking Iowans to do more to decrease the spread, including wearing masks, but she did NOT issue a mandate. Nor have the Cass County Board of Supervisors.

Supervisor Steve Green…

Green said the County’s coffers are small enough, and he didn’t want to spend the amount of money it would take to fight people who might sue over their Constitutional rights being violated. Supervisor John Hartkopf said it’s been brought to the Board’s attention that two counties in Iowa have taken some measures to implement some form of a mandate which Supervisor Green said was “cherry-picked” from Iowa Code to form a Resolution.

The interpretation comes from a gray area in the Code. Auditor Dale Sunderman…

The Board did not take action on approving a mask mandate for the County, but strongly encourage residents do whatever they can to reduce the spread of the virus. In other business, the Board also voted 5-to 2 to set a rate of $40 per month per employee, for the use of certain County employee’s personal cell phones, when conducting County business. Auditor Dale Sunderman says the policy states…