By Rich Larson, News Director
The Northfield City Council will meet tomorrow at 6pm, and the first item on the agenda will be the consideration of a liquor license for the newly
formed LLC that owns Froggy Bottoms. Northfield Police Chief Mark Elliott has recommended to the council that that request should be denied.
Lisa Monet Zarza, the owner of Froggy Bottoms, has recently reorganized her holdings. The Limited Liability Partnership that has held the license for Froggy Bottoms the last two years listed Monet and her husband Ricardo Baldazo as co-owners. However, Baldazo has had significant legal trouble over the last year. In September he was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault after an incident with the Burnsville Police Department, and in February Baldazo’s bail was revoked after an altercation at a Jimmy John’s restaurant where security footage shows Baldazo slapped one of the employees.
Zarza has suspended the LLP she shared with Baldazo and formed a new company that now lists her as the sole owner and has applied for a new liquor license for Froggy Bottoms. Zarza, however, has experienced significant legal trouble of her own over the last four to five months.
As the owner and operator of the Alibi Drinkery in Lakeville, Zarza made headlines with her brazen defiance of Governor Walz’s shutdown order for all on-premises dining, as well as mandates for physical distancing and the requirement to wear masks in public places. In mid-December, Zarza opened Alibi Drinkery to the public for on-premises dining and alcohol sales in violation of the Governor’s executive order, and without enforcing any of the protocols required during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Throughout the last three months, Zarza has faced numerous restraining orders, injunctions and finally a five-year revocation of the Alibi’s liquor license and a threatened five-year revocation of the restaurant license by the Department of Public Safety.
In a report issued last week to the Northfield City Council, Chief Elliott recommended that the city deny Zarza’s application for a new liquor license based on her actions with Alibi Drinkery, stating:
“Zarza is not an eligible person to receive a liquor license under applicable law since she is not a person of good moral character and repute. Further, this investigation has revealed that it is not in the public interest to issue the requested liquor license to a person who has willfully and intentionally violated state and local liquor licensing regulations, state executive orders, and district court orders and was not truthful in a sworn affidavit submitted to a reviewing court.”
The liquor license previously issued to Froggy Bottoms expired on March 31st.
Northfield Hospital & Clinics expand vaccine opportunities
Northfield Hospital & Clinics has once again expanded its vaccination program, reducing the age requirement of those receiving vaccine, as well as reducing the age of those eligible to sign up on the hospital’s waiting list, and offering that waiting list now in five different languages.
In a statement issued on Friday, NH& C said the program is now focused on vaccinating people age 44-64who have health conditions or are essential workers. The priority will then shift to people 16 and older with health conditions prioritized by the state.
NH&C is encouraging everyone age 16 and older to sign up on their vaccine waiting list. The statement said the list is now available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Somali and Mandarin Chinese.
As has become the norm, the hospital is asking that people not call the clinic for a vaccination appointment unless they have been contacted first. The statement also read that joining the waitlist does not guarantee an appointment and encouraged those wishing to be vaccinated to seek other options as well.
The waitlist can be found on the NH& C website at northfieldhospital.org. The state is also offering help on its Vaccine Connector website at vaccineconnector.mn.gov.
KYMN ventures into podcasting
And KYMN Radio has now ventured into the world of podcasting. 
Thanks to the diligent work of contributor Logan Wells, various KYMN shows, and segments can be found on the major podcasting platforms including Apple Music Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Google Podcast, and Stitcher.
The shows available on the podcast platforms include Raider Wrap, Fine Tune, The Weekly List, National Security Weekly and selected segments and interviews from the KYMN Morning Show.
All shows may be streamed directly from the various program pages on our website at kymnradio.net. The podcasts can be found on all platforms by searching for The KYMN Podcast.
