After weeks of discussion and research, the Blue Earth City Council finally laid the groundwork to allow cannabis businesses to get licensed at their meeting on Monday, March 16.

City attorney David Frundt presented the council with a summary of his research on state policy regarding cannabis ordinances, along with further revisions to the draft ordinance from the council’s last meeting on March 2.

“I’ve done some more research on state cannabis ordinance guidelines following the discussion at the last City Council meeting, and have some answers regarding the types of licensing available,” Frundt reported. “There are five different licenses that allow a business to conduct cannabis retail activities, all of which would require local retail certification. Depending on which one a business applies for, that will determine what they can and cannot do on their business’ premises.”

City administrator Dawn Collins also provided some more information regarding the specific licenses held by a prospective cannabis business that may potentially come to Blue Earth.

“The business I have been speaking with has applied for the “microbusiness with retail endorsement” license, which would allow them to manufacture products, package them, sell them, and allow for on-site consumption,” Collins shared.

Frundt also reminded the council that they were allowed to set a limit of only one cannabis business, as the state guidelines allow for a minimum of one, but that they could choose to set that limit higher if they wanted.

“I said at the last meeting that I would prefer to only allow one cannabis business in town, but I also understand the perspective of the businesses, in that this is a profitable new industry and it’s coming whether we like it or not,” council member Ann Hanna remarked. “I would still like to limit the number we allow in Blue Earth, but perhaps we should allow more than just one.”

“I agree with Ann that allowing multiple cannabis businesses would be in our best interests,” council member John Huisman commented. “I suggest that we start with a limit of three, and see what kind of interest we get.”

A motion was then made and seconded to cap the total number of cannabis businesses allowed in Blue Earth at three. The motion passed 6-1, with council member Jacque Drew in dissent.

With a limit on the number of businesses set, discussion turned to the issue of how to determine buffer zone distances. Mayor Rick Scholtes suggested that not only should acceptable zones for a cannabis business be defined, but also how buffer zones for all businesses in town should be measured.

“I would suggest that all of our buffer zones be measured from the property lines, which would save us the headache of having to determine how we measure such zones in the future,” Scholtes explained. “Personally, I’m in favor of there being no buffer zones at all for a cannabis business, so long as the business is located in the appropriate district.”

“So long as we don’t allow a cannabis business in any of the residential zones, that sounds good to me,” Hanna replied.

Hearing no further discussion, a motion was made and seconded to set a buffer zone distance of zero feet for cannabis businesses, while excluding them from being located in residential zones R1, R2, and R3. A motion to amend the list of restricted areas to also include zone B1 was passed unanimously. Following this, the amended original motion passed unanimously.

Some discussion was held on how to approach regulating and restricting temporary cannabis events, but the council moved to table the issue until their next meeting on April 6.

Other business discussed at the City Council meeting included:

• The public hearing for Ordinance 26-03 to amend Subsection 250.11 of the city code regarding the Fitness Center Board was held. Following the public hearing, a motion was made and seconded to pass the ordinance. The motion passed unanimously.

• Resolution 25-06 approving the State Airports Fund grant agreement for the construction of the five-unit T-Hangar project was unanimously approved.

• Resolutions 26-08, 26-09, and 26-10 approving applications to the Drinking Water Revolving Fund for South Linton Area, the North Watermain Loop, and lead service replacement for the South Linton Area were unanimously approved.

• Resolution 26-07 approving the conveyance of real property and authorization of deed for St. Luke’s Lutheran Care Center to purchase the curved section on the west side of Rice Street was approved 6-0. Huisman abstained from the vote.

• A motion to not waive the statutory tort liability limits on the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT) liability coverage waiver form was unanimously approved.

• A food truck permit for the P-Pod and various city licenses were approved unanimously.

• Collins presented the council with details on mosquito spraying for 2026, and requested permission to issue a Request For Proposal (RFP) for spraying services. While no formal action was taken, Collins was given the go-ahead to issue the RPF.