Mason City council approves setting Trick-or-Treat Night, changes speed limit on section of State Highway 122

MASON CITY — The City Council in Mason City last night approved the final reading of an ordinance changing the speed limit on a section of State Highway 122 on the west side of town as well as established Trick-or-Treat Night for Halloween:

— The council without discussion approved the ordinance that would revise the speed limit on State Highway 122 west of Taft Avenue from 50 to 45 miles per hour. A recent Iowa Department of Transportation study showed that three times higher than the state average of accidents were happening in that corridor with many of the accidents being attributed to rear-end collisions caused by drivers either following too closely or speeds being too high. 

— The council also without discussion approved setting Trick-or-Treat Night for the community on Halloween night, October 31st, between 5:30 and 7:30 PM. Mayor Bill Schickel in a memo to the council prior to last night’s meeting said city staff will continue to monitor guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health, and if needed recommend changes to the City Council. Schickel says citizens will be encouraged to take proper precautions while trick-or-treating and to stay mindful of the main ways of protecting themselves and others from COVID-19, including washing and sanitizing hands, avoiding close contact with others, using a mask to cover their mouth and nose, cover coughs and sneezes, clean and disinfect surfaces, and monitoring their health daily.