Many Fargo residents happy to go mask-free under CDC advice

FARGO, N.D. — Downtown Fargo was surprisingly busy over the weekend, due in part to an outdoor fundraiser and an indoor spring fling. Masks were in relative short supply in North Dakota’s largest city.

Andrew Kodet, 20, a North Dakota State University student, and his girlfriend, Kenzie Nylin, 21, a University of North Dakota student, said they will wear masks where required. Otherwise they will go without because of the new Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and because they’re fully vaccinated.

The CDC says people who have completed their regimen of shots should feel free to show their faces.

“If you’ve been vaccinated and you’ve put the effort into it to avoid spreading the disease, it’s about time to begin this rebuilding process,” Kodet said. “There is nothing political about it with me.”

Nylin said it’s been a long wait to ditch the face coverings, but added one caveat since unlike Kodet she’s old enough to enter liquor establishments.

Not everyone is ditching their masks just yet. Down the street from the college couple, Akayla Rondorf, 23, of Moorhead, Minnesota was wearing a pink cloth mask while walking. She said she’s fully vaccinated and still plans to wear a mask indoors.

“It’s just for the safety and comfort of the people around me,” she said. “Hopefully everyone gets vaccinated so we don’t have to wear the masks anymore.”