Northfield City Councilor Davin Sokup had a front row seat to history this year during the legislative session. Sokup’s day job is serving as one of two aides to State Senator Lindsey Port (D-Burnsville), who was the author in the Senate of the Adult Use Cannabis Act, legalizing recreational marijuana use in the State of Minnesota.
Sokup said the bill was a new idea in the senate. While the House of Representatives has seen legalization bills several times over the years, even passing a bill in 2021, the Senate had never considered the idea until this year. The 300-page bill, he said, received quite a bit more scrutiny than what would have been considered “normal.”
Northfield City Councilor Davin Sokup had a front row seat to history this year during the legislative session. Sokup’s day job is serving as one of two aides to State Senator Lindsey Port (D-Burnsville), who was the author in the Senate of the Adult Use Cannabis Act, legalizing recreational marijuana use in the State of Minnesota.
Sokup said the bill was a new idea in the senate. While the House of Representatives has seen legalization bills several times over the years, even passing a bill in 2021, the Senate had never considered the idea until this year. The 300-page bill, he said, received quite a bit more scrutiny than what would have been considered “normal.”
“Cannabis had to go through 15 committees, which is a huge number. Most bills go through one or two, maybe 3 committees. Cannabis went through 15, so it was very well vetted and amended by the time it got to the end of the session.”
Sokup said there were two fundamental reasons for this law. The first is to help the people, especially people of color, who have been convicted of petty misdemeanors or misdemeanors involving marijuana, and even those with more serious convictions. He said, in his opinion, the disparity between people of color arrested and tried for marijuana crimes and white people arrested and tried is unjustly wide. The new law will expunge the crimes from the records of people convicted of misdemeanors and will allow those convicted of felony marijuana crimes to appeal to a special board.
The other reason for the bill, he said, is to get better control of the illicit marijuana market. Sokup said keeping the tax rate at 10% will allow the state to pay for the new Office of Cannabis Management, as well as education programs across the state, but at the same time will not make the product so expensive that people return to a black market to buy it. It’s also the reason that there is no opt out for local communities. When a local municipality is allowed to opt out, he said, that only leads to a stronger illicit market.
“And Colorado is a great example of that. They were the first state to legalize. So, they said, you know, ‘Counties if you don’t like this, you can say we don’t want this here.’ So, some of those counties did, and it created this system that doesn’t work. And the illicit market doesn’t just bring cannabis, it brings a lot of other activity as well, that’s not ideal for communities.”
With the bill passed Sokup said it has been interesting to watch things from his seat as a city councilor. The Council recently passed an amended ordinance to line up with the new state law, but he said once the OCM is up and running, there will be very little that the city government will be able to say about the sale and consumption of marijuana.
“The bill honestly doesn’t allow for cities to have a lot of rulemaking. Dispensaries or businesses have to adhere to local zoning laws, and they can’t be within a certain distance from schools or daycares, et cetera. But other than that, cities don’t have a lot of power in saying yes or no.”
The Adult Use Cannabis Act will go into effect on August 1st.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Northfield City Councilor Davin Sokup can be heard here
Parking study references downtown parking structures
As the City of Northfield continues to inch forward with the ambitious Downtown Redevelopment plans, the top question has been how it will all be paid for, but perhaps the most significant question after that is about parking. Many of the plans that have been proposed remove parking from city streets. The Bridge Square redevelopment plan removes all of the parking on Water Street, north of 5th Street. Northfield Community Development Director Jake Reilly recently told Jeff Johnson on the KYMN Morning Show that the city would like to limit downtown surface parking in order to better facilitate pedestrian traffic in the area. The preliminary design of the new Archer House site development shows 36 parking stalls on the foundation level, but no surface parking along Division Street. Mayor Rhonda Pownell even cited surface parking as one of the reasons she only reluctantly supports construction of a new ice arena.
In fact, the mayor said last week that she believes there could be a better use for much of the land currently used for downtown parking.
“We have a lot of underutilized space downtown. You wouldn’t think about it, or you wouldn’t notice it unless you get up at that 3000-foot view and you see all of the ground parking that’s available that could, if it were co-located, would open up some more development or better use of the space for everyone within our downtown.”
This does not mean, however, that the city wants to eliminate parking or the use of automobiles in Downtown Northfield. Instead, the city seems to be moving to a philosophy of integrated and stand-alone parking structures.
A parking study performed by the CHS Consulting Group that was presented to the Planning Commission in late April references, in fact, two new structures in Downtown Northfield. One would be on the site of the apartment complex at 304 Washington Street and the two adjacent public parking lots. Another would have been built on Water Street, south of 5th Street, however those plans have now come into question, as the city has not been able to acquire that property.
The city is expected to offer much more information regarding the new vision of Downtown Northfield, including more on the parking study, in the coming weeks.
Law enforcement looking for speeders statewide tomorrow
Echoing a statement released this week by the Northfield Police Department, the Rice County Sheriff’s Office said deputies will take part in the Highways 19 and 60 speed reduction effort tomorrow, along with the Faribault and Lonsdale police departments as well.
Speeding continues to be a leading cause of death on Minnesota roads. As of June 30, a total of 159 people have died on Minnesota roads, including at least four in Rice County.
The statement said getting a speeding ticket may be the primary concern for most drivers, but there are other things to worry about that are far more dangerous.
Preliminary numbers show that in 2022, of the 444 fatalities on Minnesota roads, 129 died in speed-related crashes. Over the past five years, preliminary numbers show that 231 people were killed in speed-related crashes between June 1 and August 31. Speed contributed to an average of 85 deaths per year from 2013-17, but an average of 122 deaths per year from 2018-22.
The extra law enforcement on Friday is part of a larger effort being made statewide.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
