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As Poison Center Calls Rise, MN Raises Purchase Age for Kratom
Kratom: a thing you're likely unfamiliar with. It's a tropical tree from Southeast Asia that's processed for its 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), which turns up inside sketchy gas stations and vape shops as pill, powder, and gummy products that "can produce opioid- and stimulant-like effects," according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
And it's making a lot of Minnesotans sick.
"We've received at least two-and-a-half times the number of [kratom] calls from 2024 to 2025, and we're on a similar trend in 2026," Randy Fuchs with the Minnesota Regional Poison Center tells MPR News. "We've already almost matched the number of calls from all of 2025."
As such, Minnesota just passed a law that'll ban this barely regulated substance that's alarming clinicians and lawmakers around the country. Just kidding: The tepid law only inches the legal purchase age from 18 to 21, a move that will surely stop 18, 19, and 20 year olds from ingesting what's being referred to as "gas station heroin." The law's author, Rep. Jessica Hanson (DFL-Burnsville), plans to introduce additional guardrails in the future.
Per MPR, the American Kratom Association has no issue with Minnesota tip-toeing toward regulatory courage, with a spokesman adding, "Every consumer needs to be aware of the products they're buying." Thanks, man.
Nationally, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is working to temporarily reclassify 7-OH as a controlled substance, making the "manufacture, distribution, sale, and possession" of it illegal. For way more on the unregulated horrors of gas station drugs, including kratom, consult this recent episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver:
Embroiled in Scandal, St. Paul Mayor Her Skips Listening Session on Soon-to-Be-Razed Pig’s Eye Park Encampment
As a clearer picture of the bizarre sexual harassment allegations aimed at St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her emerge (it's so easy to not make “orgasmic noises” while working out in the gym), the important business of running Minnesota's capital city is being neglected.
Her was a no-show at last Tuesday's listening session about the impending closure of the Pig’s Eye Park homeless encampment, Clint Combs reports for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, "leaving Assistant Mayor Cedrick Benson alone to face an angry crowd at the North Garden Theatre."
Around 120 people live in the encampment near the Mississippi River, which is scheduled to be cleared Wednesday morning despite Ramsey County being backlogged 1,400 slots on its housing waiting list, Combs reports. Even finding temporary shelter sounds like a tall order. “Our shelter is running at 99% capacity on a regular basis,” Keith Kozerski of Catholic Charities tells KSTP.
Racket's intrepid intern, Clare O’Connor, has been reporting at Pig's Eye for a week; expect an in-depth report from her later this month. In the meantime, watch this clip of WCCO's Conor Wight conducting interviews with worried Pig's Eye residents.
RIP David Z, Architect of the "Minneapolis Sound"
"If it weren’t for David Rivkin, the world might not have ever heard of Prince, 'Funkytown' or Jonny Lang," begins an obit (gift link) from the Strib's Jon Bream.
The Minneapolis-born Rivkin, aka David Z, worked as a Grammy-winning music producer, engineer, songwriter, and guitarist for decades. His studio wizardry appeared on early Prince demos, the 1980 Lipps Inc. megahit "Funkytown," and the first major recordings by blues-rock wunderkind Jonny Lang.
Rivkin died Sunday in Burbank, California. He was 78.
“He was a master of gizmos in the studio,” says Rivkin's brother, Prince & the Revolution drummer Bobby Z. “He was linking instruments together and using the [mixing] board in unorthodox ways. He was a true rebel. He was a very creative guy.”
Without David Z, the Minneapolis Sound might sound, well, much different.
“It’s the sound of ignorance,” he told the Strib in the 1980s. “It’s [a sound] made up in an isolated atmosphere. We don’t steal from someone in L.A. or New York."
Bigot Box Score: Indiana Fever's Sophie Cunningham Logs 3 Points, Gets Loudly Booed in 108-100 Loss to Minnesota Lynx
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, meanwhile, scores major points for her pointed outfit choice.
Cunningham, who recently used her platform to bully trans kids while hopping aboard the MAGA culture-war grift train, was reportedly booed every time she touched the ball Sunday at Target Center.
Catch up on your WNBA-leading 25-6 Lynx via the great Britt Robson's new column for Racket.
