Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Leave the THC to the Gas Stations for Now
Have you bought THC edibles and/or drinkables at your local liquor store over the last few months? Convenient, right? And also, unfortunately, not at all legal! While there were precious few restrictions placed regarding when and where THC snacks could be sold when the new low-dose edible law went into effect last year, liquor stores are only allowed to sell items outlined in Minnesota Statute, section 340A.412, subd. 14—and hemp-derived THC/CBD isn't on there. "Under current state law, exclusive liquor stores cannot sell products containing CBD, hemp, or THC," Nicole Roddy, Public Information Officer for the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (AGE), tells Racket.
That hasn't stopped liquor stores from selling them, of course. Anecdotally, I'd say I've seen weed treats in close to 100% of liquor stores I've visited since the summer, and why not? It's easy money, and there hasn't been a whole lot of enforcement around it. Although there has been some enforcement around it. Keyport Liquor Duluth just started sporting the following sign in its windows:
Uh-oh, is there a big crackdown on liquor store weed seltzers in the works? We asked Roddy, and the answer is... not really! "AGE completes routine liquor license compliance inspections throughout the state on a regular basis, but unless there is a specific complaint, there are no directed enforcement efforts in any particular region," she says. And theirs isn't a hyper-punitive agency, either: "AGE seeks to first provide education surrounding any violations noted, and asks licensees for voluntary compliance," she adds. In any case, recent enforcement might not be necessary for much longer: If the new DFL-backed marijuana legalization bill passes, Minnesotans 21 and older will be able to get CBD and THC at liquor stores (along with supermarkets, breweries, and via home delivery services). As the folks at the THC/CBD brand BLNCD Naturals told us in October, that just makes sense; liquor store employees are among the most qualified and experienced when it comes to checking IDs in order to sell a controlled substance.
Wanna Buy the Jersey Brett Favre Almost Died In?
Vikings fans are still wincing from watching the New Orleans Saints repeatedly plaster then-Vikes QB Brett Favre in 2010's infamous "Bountygate" game. Now's your chance to bid on the jersey that absorbed that punishment during the 2010 NFC Championship: The game-worn memorabilia is expected to fetch "at least $30,000" later this month at Heritage Auctions’ Winter Platinum Night Auction. “It’s one of the most significant jerseys,” Heritage consignment director Tony Giese, a Wisconsin native, tells the Green Bay Press Gazette. “It really signifies the changing of an era. Now, you are starting to see more health and safety. Back then, my god, it was almost criminal what they did to Brett Favre in the game. They literally teed off on him every single time.” Favre's reputation hasn't aged as well as the spotless jersey, which comes autographed and with a certificate of authentication; the Hall of Fame gunslinger is currently embroiled in a "shameful and disgusting" scandal involving the embezzlement of Mississippi welfare funds. Those "Bountygate" hits look a little less dirty these days.
School Employees: We Deserve Unemployment Too
Every year, countless people who work in schools across Minnesota—including bus drivers, teacher's aides, paraprofessionals, and cafeteria workers—are laid off for the summer. Unlike most other workers, however, these hourly employees are not eligible to collect unemployment, because they have a “reasonable expectation” of being rehired. As KARE 11 reports today, these workers are not cool with that arrangement, and some of them came to St. Paul today to testify on behalf of a bill that would remedy this situation. "For people who do the important work that allows Minnesotans to learn, it’s an embarrassment that our state treats them differently than other workers," said the fantastically named Minnesota AFL-CIO president, Burnie Burnham.
GOP Railroads Omar off House Committee
In a party line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove Ilhan Omar, (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee today. The stated reason for doing so is “past anti-semitic remarks”; the actual reason is to exact revenge on the previous Democratic majority for shoving loons Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Paul Gossar off the committee in 2021 and to score points by making squeamish centrist Democrats defend a colleague they’re far from fond of. Among Omar’s offenses: a careless “all about the Benjamins” comment she promptly apologized for, the (correct) statement that the U.S. and Israel have committed atrocities, and a vague phrase about 9/11 taken out of context. Oh, also being a Somali Muslim woman and failing to toe the line on the U.S foreign policy consensus, though these reasons were not officially articulated by Speaker of the House (does that come with an asterisk now?) Kevin McCarthy. Omar's remarks on her behalf prior to the vote are worth hearing in full.
