WINONA, Minn. – Predictably the Winona mercantile community is unfriendly to Mayor Scott Sherman’s emergency masking mandate. The president of the Winona Chamber of Commerce, Christie Ransom, called it “government overreach.” The mayor issued the 30-day masking order in response to a spike in Covid cases due to virulent the Delta strain. In an interview on KWNO radio, Ransom didn’t address the spike. Her point: “After a year and half of being shut down and mandated time and time again we have zero tolerance and zero appetite for one more mandate.” Ransom said that business owners are well-equipped to make the decision on keeping customers safe. Ransom said she had visited roughly 40 businesses, none of which she said had the appetite for another mask mandate.
Ransom. Chamber of Commerce executive. Visited five merchants in the morning and was only customer wearing a mask.