City of Duluth Employees Still Mandated to Wear Masks, City Hall’s Reopening Date Not Clear

May 19, 2021

Dan Hanger,

DULUTH, Minn. – It’s been nearly a week since the city of Duluth said it would no longer enforce the citywide mask mandate following Governor Tim Walz’s announcement to do the same across the state. But that doesn’t mean Duluth city employees have been allowed to ditch their masks while on the job.

Chief Administrative Officer Noah Schuchman released a statement to FOX 21 Wednesday saying, “While the broader mask mandate has ended, businesses or organizations can continue to require masks inside their facilities. The City is continuing to evaluate the safety of staff inside City facilities, and have always maintained that their safety, as well as that of the public, are our top priorities.”

The internal mandate also includes Duluth police officers and firefighters.

Meanwhile in Superior, the city no longer has a mask mandate for residents or its employees.

Mayor Jim Paine said public-facing employees are asked to be courteous of others and put a mask on when approached by someone wearing a mask.

Paine said Superior’s police and fire chiefs are allowed to make their own policies, which include some form of mask wearing for certain public situations.

“We are basically honoring requests of private property and homeowners if they want masks. Otherwise it is officers’ choice,” said Nicholas Alexander, Superior’s chief of police.

Superior Police Chief Scott Gordon said his firefighters are required to wear a mask “when entering a business while on duty that requires them, when rendering care while on emergency calls, [and] when entering a residence.”

Superior City Hall remains wide open to the public, but Duluth continues to have City Hall closed to the public.

A spokesperson for the city told FOX 21 Wednesday that an update on access to the building is expected sometime next week, even though an internal email to employees May 14 says the city plans to reopen public facilities June 1, as seen in the screenshot of the email to the right.