MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 23: Dr. Chris Lippert, the Director of OR/ER/SDS at Avera Health in Mitchell, South Dakota, speaks in favor of a citywide mask mandate at a Mitchell city council meeting on Monday, November 23, 2020. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 23: Maskless residents listen as a resident speaks in favor of a citywide mask mandate at a city council meeting at the Mitchell Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota on Monday, November 23, 2020. Mayor Bob Everson issued an emergency executive order requiring masks in indoor spaces effective on November 17, and the City Council voted to approve a citywide mask mandate on November 23. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 23: The Mitchell city council holds a meeting to discuss the passage of a citywide mask mandate at the Mitchell Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota on Monday, November 23, 2020. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 23: Debbie Emme frowns while listening to Troy Magnuson speak in favor of a citywide mask mandate at a city council meeting at the Mitchell Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota on Monday, November 23, 2020. Mayor Bob Everson issued an emergency executive order requiring masks in indoor spaces effective on November 17, and the City Council voted to approve a citywide mask mandate on November 23. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 23: Holding her child, Imrie, Brianna Blom speaks in opposition to a citywide mask mandate at a city council meeting at the Mitchell Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota on Monday, November 23, 2020. Instead of a mask mandate, the city should promote a healthy lifestyle, Blom said. Recommendations included pasture-raised beef liver and raw organic kombucha. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 22: Birds fly past the Mitchell Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota on Sunday, November 22, 2020. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 22: A resident crosses the street near a gas station in Mitchell, South Dakota on Sunday, November 22, 2020. Mitchell mayor Bob Everson issued an emergency executive order requiring masks in indoor spaces effective on November 17, and the City Council voted to approve a citywide mask mandate on November 23. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 22: Sings at a bar in Mitchell, South Dakota instruct patrons to wear a face covering while in side the bar on Sunday, November 22, 2020. Mitchell mayor Bob Everson issued an emergency executive order requiring masks in indoor spaces effective on November 17, and the City Council voted to approve a citywide mask mandate on November 23. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 24: Fresh dirts marks the gravesite of Buck Timmins, who died of COVID-19, at Graceland Cemetery in Mitchell, South Dakota on Monday, November 24, 2020. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 22: Mitchell City Council member Susan Tjarks sits on a bench outside of City Hall in Mitchell, South Dakota on Sunday, November 22, 2020. Tjarks has spoken out in favor of a city-wide mask mandate in Mitchell. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 23: Cody Denne takes a phone call inside Ron's Bicycle and Locksmith Shop in Mitchell, South Dakota on Monday, November 23, 2020. Denne, who manages the shop, lost his father, Mike Denne, to COVID-19 in November of 2020, a few weeks before the city instituted a citywide mask mandate. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 23: Debbie Emme reacts in tears after the Mitchell City Council approves a citywide mask mandate at a council meeting at the Mitchell Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota on Monday, November 23, 2020. The mandate passed by a vote of 5-3. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
MITCHELL, SD - NOVEMBER 23: A tumbleweed rolls across Main Street in Mitchell, South Dakota on Monday, November 23, 2020. Opponents of a citywide mask mandate under consideration by the Mitchell City Council have complained that restrictions due to COVID-19 have crippled the local economy. (Photo by KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post)
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The Washington Post: The struggle over a mask mandate in South Dakota (A1, December 11, 2020)
Please read Annie Gowen's dispatch from Mitchell, South Dakota, where I photographed the city council’s decision to impose a citywide mask mandate late last month, after weeks of staggering numbers of hospitalizations and deaths.