MASON CITY, Iowa - With health care workers facing a critical shortage of masks, people in North Iowa are helping fill the need by sewing surgical masks by hand.

Tammy Hrubetz from Rockwell first heard of the effort to make the masks through a social media post by MercyOne North Iowa.  She even got her neighbor and several friends involved.  Yesterday, they managed to make 30 masks and have given away five.

Hrubetz tells KIMT News 3, people in the community are appreciative of their new found hobby.

"One of my kids' friend's moms sent me a message on social media saying, 'Hey, we have a sister in law that has issues with her respiratory area and would really like to have some masks for her.' and I said, 'Come on down, I'll hand them to you in the driveway and you can go," said Hrubetz.

They have been using clearance fabric from craft stores to make the masks.  She says she's seen lots of people making them across the state, from Lake Mills all the way to Waterloo.