LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's governor has told local governments they will get no federal money meant to help fight the effects of the coronavirus pandemic if they require people to wear masks in public buildings.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that the mandate from Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts seems at odds with his usual message encouraging people to wear masks to slow the spread of the virus.
But his spokesman, Taylor Gage, says the governor “does not believe that failure to wear a mask should be the basis for denying taxpayers' services.”
Some $100 million has been alloted to Nebraska counties as part of the federal economic rescue law.