Dave Wood

NORTHERN MINN. POT FARM GETS 20M

MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE – Oct. 18 ,2023

“Pot, pot, on the Range, where the minepits are covered with weed….”

Who’d a thunk it? But there it was, right on the front page. Before we proceed on this topic, let me assure readers I am neither pro nor con on the subject of marijuana. I tried it once and wondered what’s the big deal? And then I returned to “talk of gin and beer,” to quote Rudyard Kipling.

But I must say it is somewhat discombobulating to learn that Minnesota’s Iron Range, that icon of industrial might and romantic story, has shifted its emphasis from iron ore to cannabis, from taconite pellets to toking pipes. What in the world has happened to Minnesota, the state that has come to be known as the state “where nothing is allowed”— won’t allow distilleries to sell beer, no color in the oleomargarine, no liquor or autos sold on Sundays? 

Pot on the Iron Range, indeed! It sort of broke my heart when I remembered one of my favorite childhood movies, “An American Romance,” which told the heartwarming story of Slavic immigrant Steven Dangos who arrived in America, battled cruel winters in a job on the Iron Range, then worked in the steel mills and became an automobile manufacturer and, finally was instrumental in aiding the North Star State in winning World War II.

The outlook for the Gopher State seems bleak, sort of like Chicago, that hog butcher of the world, that city of the big shoulders turning into an effete wonderland for the proper aesthetes who threw Lenny Bruce out of his nightclub gig for using a vulgarity that certainly wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow from a meatpacker.

Fortunately, I was heartened a few days later when the Star Tribune, “Newspaper of the Upper Mississippi Watershed District,” published a follow-up story that raised the possibility that the Iron Range might be saved from falling into the hands of Jack Mitchell, described as a “cannabis entrepreneur, whose earlier dealings have attracted scrutiny” in Missouri, another state where numerous activities are also are not allowed. Whew! Was that a relief! Nothing allowed or at least a shred of it might be saved!

That hope got shredded quickly. Alas, more bad news came the following gloomy Sunday morning when the Star Tribune arrived, bearing its old motto “Sunshine on Your Doorstep.”

Sure enough, two pages of the Business Section began with the following headline: HAVE A POT BUSINESS IN MIND? START HERE!

What followed was news that Minnesota readers, who still can’t buy a car on Sunday, could have a role in the burgeoning annual $1.5 billion cannabis ecosystem by heeding the story’s long explanation of Minnesota’s licensing rules, fees, and hints about opportunities and pitfalls of getting into the biz.  (Example: Mezzobusiness-Cultivate 1 acre outdoors and open up to 3 retail outlets—application fee $5,000; Initial fee $5,000; Microbusiness $500). Or even $0 if you only wanted to sell to yourself!

Dave would like to hear your plans. Phone him at 715-426-9554.