Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of important, overlooked, and/or interesting Minnesota news stories.
Oh Shoot: Amazon Sends Customer a Loaded Handgun
Did you know Amazon is offering a deal where if you place an order for a hydration vest, you'll also receive a loaded handgun?
This was the situation Minneapolis man Travis Meier found himself in, reports Estelle Timar-Wilcox for MPR News, after ordering a vest for carrying water on long runs or bike rides. When the package showed up on February 12, the vest was in there—and so was a holstered AND LOADED Ruger LCP 380 handgun. Meier called 911, and police collected the gun, cartridges, holster, and Amazon packaging. They're currently investigating the incident.
Here's my favorite part of the story: "Meier also called Amazon’s customer service line to ask how a loaded gun ended up in his package. Meier said they didn’t have an answer. The representative gave him a gift card and said they’d get back to him within two days. Almost two weeks later, the company reached out to him and confirmed the order was fulfilled by Amazon."
How much do you think Amazon gifts you for accidentally sending you a loaded gun? Twenty bucks?
Bad News A-Brewin' in MN Brewing Industry
Last year we had David Berg, the longtime brewmaster at New Ulm's August Schell Brewing Co., on RacketCast to discuss the dreaded "craft beer bubble." Berg mostly issued warning that, yeah, things are getting hairy for the Minnesota craft beer industry, and this year has begun with a tidal wave of bad headlines.
The closures are coming fast and hard, with Duluth's Hoops Brewing and Waconia's Waconia Brewing both shutting down for good. Closer to home, Minneapolis's HeadFlyer Brewing announced Thursday that its taproom will close in April (rumor has it Dangerous Man might claim the space). Earlier this month Sam Harriman, owner of Sisyphus Brewing in Minneapolis, opened up his books to show the stark financial realities of running a brewery in 2026. Across town in Northeast, Bauhaus Brewing ownership got real about financial devastation caused, in part, by Operation Metro Surge; "our taproom has taken a massive blow to sales," they write.
And then there's Surly Brewing Co.'s charitable operation, Surly Gives a Damn, which is now history. "The reality of the beer (and all alcohol) world is that most breweries are facing an extremely challenging economic environment," founder/owner Omar Ansari wrote this month in a letter to volunteers. (Because Racket readers have long/righteous memories, we'll go ahead note that Ansari is an alleged union buster.)
Yeesh... get out there and support your local brewery if you wanna see 'em around in 2027!
New MN Weed Bills Range from Lame to Potentially Cool
The Minnesota Legislature is back in session, which means a slew of new bills regulating recreational THC and THC-derived products are on the table. Both the Senate and the House have proposals that would allow employees to take on stock options for cannabis businesses, making it possible for worker-owner weed shops in the future (neato!). There are also two bills that would permit the use of out-of-state testing facilities for a short time while Minnesota's backlogged local sites catch up (practical!). In addition, dual proposals would keep weed shops at least 500 feet away from hospitals and children’s housing (fair, we guess?), as well as designated organ transplant housing (uh, is that really necessary?) and a law that would ban THC infused pastries, candies, and chocolate (hell no!).
Matt DeLong has a great rundown of what’s being pitched in today’s Nuggets newsletter for the Star Tribune. Of course, a lot of this proposed legislation could be moot if the federal ban on THC-infused beverages and snacks actually goes into effect in November of this year (boo!).
How to Help: Rent Relief for Families in Mobile Home Park
As we’ve mentioned (and as the renters among us don’t need anyone to tell us), rent is due once again. And that’s true for families in mobile home parks as well. That’s why today we’re spotlighting a GoFundMe trying to raise $21,000 for vulnerable Minnesotans who live in mobile homes. As the organizer notes: “Mobile home parks are often on outskirts of suburbs which have continued to experience heavy immigration enforcement and activity since the alleged ‘draw down’ of Operation Metro Surge.” The organizer is in direct contact with the property manager and is very close to reaching her goal. So let’s do this, y’all!
