Today: Minnesota repeals shotgun‑only deer hunting zones statewide, local businesses are closer to opening their doors to the recreational Cannabis industry, and Hormel sues Johnsonville over an alleged top-secret recipe theft.
—–Executive Producer: Victor Palomino Producer: Jose OzoriaAnchor: Garce Jacobson Reader scripting: Xan HolstonFact checking: Joel Glaser, Victor Palomino Editorial support: Emily Krumberger Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood
Transcript
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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.
ANCHOR: Today, Minnesota repeals shotgun‑only deer hunting zones statewide. Then, local businesses are closer to opening their doors to the recreational Cannabis industry. And, Hormel sues Johnsonville over an alleged top-secret recipe theft.
I'm Gracie J.
Starting next year, hunters in southern Minnesota can use rifles during deer season. Minnesota lawmakers voted to end an 82‑year-old law that created zones where only shotguns were allowed for hunting. The law was originally passed to help deer populations grow. But supporters say modern shotguns have closed the performance gap with rifles, and fast-growing deer herds make rifle use more effective for population control, especially to combat chronic wasting disease. Counties may still impose local restrictions.
In today's main story, Minnesota's Office of Cannabis Management issued its first cannabis business license. This multi-staged process sets into motion the start of the Cannabis industry in the state. Jose Ozoria has more.
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Jose Ozoria: In 2023, after much debate, Minnesota state legislators passed the state's Cannabis Law. The law established a regulatory framework for the new cannabis industry. Overseeing the burgeoning industry, and its rollout, is the Office of Cannabis Management, issuing licenses based on very specific criteria.
Eric Taubel: The biggest net unlimited pool are micro business license, which is a small, vertically integrated cannabis business. You can grow cannabis, make edibles, and sell them out of a single storefront.
Jose Ozoria: Eric Taubel is the Interim Director of the Office of Cannabis Management, he describes the various types of licenses available to applicants.
Eric Taubel: The licenses run the gamut from sort of the top of the supply chain, the indoor and outdoor growing farms. We have a manufacturing license that allows people to make cannabis products. We also have transporters, deliveries, wholesaler licenses available, then we have three different kinds of licenses that allow the operator to do all of those sort of things, except for testing.
Jose Ozoria: Mr. Taubel says that along with a thorough application process, the office also oversees strict quality control of the products that will be sold.
Eric Taubel: All of our products have to be tested and pass a testing regime that's done by a licensed testing facility. When it's all said and done, we expect, over the course of the next year and a half, to see, you know, at least 1000 or so businesses ultimately reach that opening stage.
Jose Ozoria: Jacob Schlicter is the owner of the Smoking Tree. His business is positioned to be the first retailer in the Albert Lea area in southern Minnesota. The Office of cannabis management issued the smoking tree a license, and Jacob is now waiting for the city to approve his registration. He says it's been a long process.
Jacob Schlicter: I got the state license the same day. I went right to the city offices, got my city registration paid for, and that's done. But we have to go through the formality of having our city council hear the matter and approve the registration. It's been a solid year since the Social Equity Verification. That was a pretty complex endeavor. And then the actual application process.
Jose Ozoria: The state keeps close track of how cannabis businesses operate. Jacob describes some of the things his business needs to adhere to in order to legally operate and maintain his license.
Jacob Schlicter: They definitely want to see you using a point of sale software they're using for tracking and tracing from seed to sales. They have the ID requirements, ID verification procedures on disposing of cannabis waste.
Jose Ozoria: Mr. Taubel describes two primary goals of the state in launching the cannabis industry.
Eric Taubel: To create a craft cannabis market. So a market that kind of emulates our craft brewery, craft distillery markets. And I also hope that we've met the other goal, you know. Part of having a well-regulated legal cannabis market is that we minimize the negative effects of illegal drug markets.
Jose Ozoria: Minnesota's Cannabis Law establishes several grant programs that provide funding for technical assistance, financial capital and workforce training for Minnesota's new legal cannabis industry. For North Star Stories, I'm Jose Ozoria.
ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.
Hormel Foods is suing Johnsonville, accusing the sausage maker of using stolen trade secrets. The lawsuit says two longtime Hormel employees took top-secret sausage recipes and marketing plans with them after jumping ship to Johnsonville. Hormel, based in Austin Minnesota, says one of the employees admitted emailing confidential files before leaving and that both men coordinated the move to benefit their new employer. The company asked a federal court to order Johnsonville to return or delete the information and pay damages. Johnsonville has not publicly responded.
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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.