Blue Laws New To Some Residents | Video

Jenny Castro | 9/6/2012

The North Dakota "Blue Laws" are unfamiliar to many new residents in the area and many are having to get used to these restrictions on store hours. North Dakota law says that stores must be closed between midnight and noon on Sundays.

With this law in place, stores that are open seven days a week have a chance to give their workers some downtime. But some long-time and new residents are saying that they don`t really understand the need for these regulations on Sundays.

“It`s a little strange. Most people want to go shopping early on Sunday because it`s their only day off,” said Novella Crandal, a North Dakota visitor.

“My daughters were both nurses and you didn`t always get the days off that you wanted. So I don`t see that making a law that says they have to be closed till noon is any big help to anybody,” said Dorothy Hegstad, a North Dakota resident.

The Blue Laws once required most businesses to stay closed on Sundays, until 1991 when it was changed to the current regulations where businesses can open at noon.

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