Law enforcement ensuring ND Smart Restart regulations will be met through education

In less than 24 hours, North Dakota will once again be open for business

FARGO, N.D. — Although bars, restaurants and other businesses can choose to open Friday morning, how they operate will look different than what we’re used to.

Business owners and customers have to follow guidelines outlined in North Dakota’s Smart Restart plan.

Among other rules, employers must limit the number of customers within facilities and allow for appropriate physical distancing measures.

“I don’t anticipate any problems,” says Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner. “We haven’t had people trying to push the envelope, so to speak.”

If the Cass County Sheriff’s Office does see an uptick in people willfully violating the rules, they could potentially issue them a $1,000 fine.

“Our first objective is to number one educate wherever the violation is occurring or those people that are violating the order,” says Jahner. “So we first want to do education and let them know what the order specifically states, what they can or cannot do, and then simply document that violation, and then the next time if we’re called there again, then we take our enforcement action.”

Like the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, West Fargo and Fargo Police stress that education is their number one priority.

“We’ll go there, we’ll check it out, we’ll chat with people and just say, ‘Hey, get these restaurants or patrons back down to what they need to be and make sure that they’re social distancing and following those guidelines,'” says Fargo Police Crime Prevention and Public Information Officer Jessica Schindeldecker.

Those at the West Fargo Police Department say the community has been cooperative and they hope it will stay that way.

“Everybody’s anxious to get out and get back to some sort of normalcy, but yes overall, cooperation has been excellent with the public and business owners,” says Interim Chief Jerry Boyer.

As the state’s economy gets going, all three entities stress the importance of continuing to follow guidelines set by the state government.

Customers of any businesses are encouraged to download the Care19 App to increase success levels with contact tracing.