Legalize Cannabis Legislation
As state legislators get ready to vote on the legalization of cannabis products, the bill is making it’s way through the committee process, with most of the committees having something to due with various parts of the bill. District 58A representative Kristi Pursell is co-chair of the House agriculture committee, which heard testimony last week from growers, retailers and brewers among others. “I want to make sure that our farmers, should they want to diversify their crop and grow this product, that they have access to it, you know, can make sure they’re getting fair pay for it, so we really sort of dug into some of the minutiae for growers.” The bill is still taking shape, and there is more work to do. The Ag committee will resume the cannabis topic again soon, and Pursell vows to continue her efforts. “The author of the bill gave assurances in the committee yesterday that he wanted to keep talking about this and hearing this out and that’s actually a thing that I will be following up with Representative Zack Stephenson to say, ‘hey, I heard you say that you are going to take these concerns from growers and producers seriously – what are you doing to address that?’ ” In it’s current form, the bill is 302 pages long.
Fire at Winjums
At 10:38am last Friday, the Faribault Fire Department received a call from Winjum’s Resort located on the west side of Roberds Lake. The caller stated that they went into the restaurant and it appears that there had been a fire sometime last night. The fire was out and they wanted the fire department to come and look at it. The fire department responded to survey the scene and start an investigation into the cause. “Upon our arrival soot was evident on the windows and upon entry they discovered soot throughout the restaurant. The area of origin was identified and we began the investigation.” The Faribault Fire Department worked with the property owner to determine a cause. Due to the extent of damage the State Fire Marshal’s Office was contacted to assist with the investigation which is on-going at this time. Preliminary investigation indicates an accidental fire. There were no injuries reported.
Popcorn Wagon
The popcorn wagon, summertime staple of downtown Northfield will soon be getting an overhaul. “That wonderful 100-year old wagon will be refurbished here coming up. We’ll be getting brand new wood put onto it, brand new windows, a new paint job, and look at enhancing a little of the metal that’s on it” says Craig Swenson of 50 North, the owner and operator of the wagon. The woodwork and metalwork will be done here in Minnesota by skilled tradespeople and Polzin glass will put in new glasswork. When it’s done, Swenson says it will have a high profile this coming season. “We’re hoping to have that all ready for summer months coming up and then we’re looking at a theme for the Jesse James Parade coming up around the popcorn wagon. This is a very large staple when it comes to the downtown Northfield area.” Work should be completed by late spring.
