Effective immediately, the city of Wayne no longer has a mask mandate.
The mandate was lifted after Mayor Cale Giese broke a tie vote during Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne City Council. Council members Yasuko Taoka, Nick Muir, Jill Brodersen and Jason Karsky voted against lifting the mandate, while council members Terri Buck, Dwaine Spieker, Matt Eischied and Chris Woehler voted to remove the requirement.
Discussion centered on the fact that even though the mandate was in effect, people were not wearing masks and it was difficult to enforce.
Wayne was only one of three cities in the state of Nebraska that still had a mandate — the other two being Omaha and Lincoln.
The city of Wayne will still require masks in all buildings, and businesses can require masks at their discretion.
For full details on Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne City Council, pick up a copy of this week's edition of Wayne Herald.
