With Governor Tim Walz recently ordering a statewide mask mandate, the state of Minnesota sent out a one-time shipment of disposable masks for businesses within each county. Today in Beltrami County, the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce provided kits of 100 disposable masks to area businesses to ensure that businesses do not have to turn customers away due to the mask mandate requiring everyone to wear a mask inside businesses.

The state shipped a total of 24,000 masks for the chamber to distribute, and many businesses were able to receive the kind gesture.

By — Destiny Wiggins