Schools drop mask mandates as cases decline

As Covid case numbers continue to fall after peaking here in early February, so too do the mask mandates.

The only school district in the county to mandate universal mask wearing in all grades since the start of school, Cloquet school board members took a cautious approach through both the Delta and the Omicron variants, never altering the mandate. On Monday, however, board members voted 5-0 to end the mask mandate effective Saturday.

Their decision was greeted with applause by nearly a dozen parents and children who attended the meeting, most of whom addressed the board during the public comm...