Earlier this week, The Daily Beast reported that a pre-eminent local health-care organization in a COVID-19 hot spot was sponsoring a massive indoor country and western concert that wasn’t going to mandate face mask-wearing. Well, two days on, the event has been abruptly canceled. Organizers of the South Dakota event, which was going to see Chris Young thrill masses of droplet-spreaders at the Denny Sanford Premier Center on Oct. 24, didn’t explain exactly why the event has been canned. The nonprofit Sanford Health of Sioux Falls was sponsoring the event in conjunction with the state’s governor, Kristi Noem. She endorsed the Sturgis motorcycle rally last month, where nearly half a million people gathered. One study estimated the rally resulted in more than 260,000 COVID-19 cases.
