50 organizations are lobbying Legislature to keep it. Not one group favors ending it. //end headline wrapper ?>Riverside Theatre. Photo by Dave Reid.
Robin Janson’s business has a simple rule for customers and employees: Wear a mask. “No mask? No exceptions,” is how she sums it up.
Janson is the president of Urban Evolutions, an Appleton manufacturer of furniture and wall paneling made from reclaimed wood. The 24-year-old business has a showroom and retail store where it enforces the mask requirement to keep customers and employees safe from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When the statewide mask mandate went into effect, we felt like the state had our back,” Janson says. “We have tried hard and been successful in keeping our retail staff safe. Requiring masks or face shields has been a simple and effective tool.”
Republican legislators are seeking to end Wisconsin s mask mandate despite public support for the governor s order. Medical associations, school groups and chambers of commerce are among 53 groups that registered in favor of keeping the mandate.
State law allows the governor to issue emergency orders for 60 days. So far, Gov. Tony Evers has been issuing new orders every 60 days to extend the mask requirement. Republican legislators contend Evers has acted outside his powers as governor with each new extension.
The Wisconsin Senate voted Jan. 26 to end the mask requirement. The Assembly was on track to also vote last week, but Assembly leaders pulled back after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that ending the emergency order could mean Wisconsin loses $49 million a month in federal food assistance. Federal food assistance money is tied to whether a state has a public health emergency in place.
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