Could Our Homegrown THC Seltzer Market Vanish?

Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.

Breweries Fret Over New THC Bill

In December, we talked to some of the small Minnesota breweries who worried that changes to weed laws in Minnesota might threaten their recent THC seltzer green rush. “I think everyone pretty much expects full legalization to come sometime in the next year… and we’re all kind of bracing ourselves," Venn Brewing’s Kyle Sisco told us at the time. It looks like they were right to be concerned: The Star Tribune's Ryan Faircloth reports that without tweaks to the proposed bill (including a hemp-specific carve-out), our homegrown THC seltzer market will go away.

Among the breweries' concerns? A requirement in the bill that "cannabis manufacturing must take place on equipment that is used exclusively for the manufacture of cannabinoid products." Breweries like Venn, and really all but the biggest breweries in the state, wouldn't be able to afford new equipment separate from their existing setups. "There are very, very few breweries in the state of Minnesota that can justify two canning lines and two tanks and two pumps and two hoses," Minneapolis Cider Company co-founder Jason Dayton tells the Strib.

Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront Could Become Tribal Land

Long before the land along St. Anthony Falls was quarried by colonists, before milling companies desecrated it, the area was considered sacred to the Dakota people, used in ceremonies and for giving birth. Now, Friends of the Falls is asking the Dakota Nation to consider taking back three acres of it. “We don't normally get people wanting to help tribes get their land back, especially land that's so important to us," Dakota Nation member Shelley Buck, who is also Friends of the Falls president, tells Star Tribune reporter Susan Du. The city of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Park Board are also on board. Early concepts for the project show a pathway that would lead to places for reflection and ceremony. But first, the Dakota Nation must weigh in on if such an acquisition is financially feasible. The land includes a part of the old Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam that is currently federally owned, but after no local takers expressed interest in buying it, ownership is expected to go to the city this year.

One MN Family's Turbulent Journey Back to Africa

Today’s Wall Street Journal feature, “One Father’s Desperate Plan to Rescue His Son From America,” leads with a vivid scene of the culture clash that's central to the story: 20-year-old Seckie Saleban, waking up groggy and thinking The Office is still playing, realizing those sounds are coming from rifle-wielding Somaliland cops. The arrest was made at the request of his father, Mohamed Saleban, who believes deviant U.S. culture has infected his son. Sixteen years earlier, Seckie had moved with his family from Somalia to Owatonna, Minnesota, where the eventual teen would horrify his hard-working father via his affinity for “marijuana, girls, and late nights,” WSJ’s Michael M. Phillips writes. Post-high school life was tough for Seckie, who struggled to find work and fought with his devout parents.

Then, an ultimatum: Relocate with your family to Somaliland or stick it out alone in Minnesota. Seckie chose the former, but the familial head-butting didn’t improve. So much so that Seckie found himself arrested under a Somaliland land law that states: “The parent can request the district court discipline a child older than 15. When the court investigates and is satisfied with the parent’s reasoning, it may sentence the boy to no more than six months in jail.” WaPo points out there is no maximum age. We encourage you to read the entire longform piece to see how it ends.

Really Is!

That's Chicago-Lake Liquors, whose owner, John Wolf, spoke at a 2020 Trump rally. Happy Friday!