Star Tribune
Recount winners declared in Arden Hills, Ramsey County board races
On the Ramsey County Board, Miller will represent District 7, comprising Maplewood, North St. Paul and White Bear Lake. She will fill the seat of outgoing Ramsey County Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt, who has been on the board for 28 years.
Miller, a Maplewood resident, works as the director of Interfaith Action of Greater St. Paul’s Department of Indian Work.
On Election Day, Miller held a 28-vote lead over Sarah Yang. After the recount, she still came out ahead: Miller received 15,435 votes, while Yang received 15,404. The county canvassing board will certify the results Dec. 4.
Miller is one of two new members elected to the board this month. Tara Jebens-Singh was elected to represent District 1, covering Arden Hills, Gem Lake, Mounds View, North Oaks, Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, White Bear Township, plus parts of Spring Lake Park and Blaine.
A special election to fill the vacant District 3 seat, representing Falcon Heights and parts of St. Paul, will be held Feb. 11.
Star Tribune
Minnesota officials are stepping up DWI enforcement to combat ‘incredible and unacceptable’ trend
The campaign is aimed at preventing traffic deaths and to encourage people to drive sober.
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The Mankato City Council voted Monday to limit the number of recreational cannabis retailers to four, the minimum allowed under state law. The ordinance also establishes strict zoning regulations, including large buffer zones around schools, day care centers and parks.
Mankato’s ordinance sets a 1,000-foot buffer zone around schools and a 500-foot buffer around day cares, residential drug treatment facilities and some parks. These restrictions are stricter than those adopted by other cities, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, which set buffers at 300 feet from schools.
“Some say this is very restrictive,” longtime Council President Mike Laven said. “But these restrictions are the best practice now, and we can modify them in the future.”
The restrictions drew criticism from Matthew Little, a Mankato resident and operating partner for a hemp processing company in Waseca. The cap of four retailers was “way too low” for a regional hub like Mankato, Little said at the meeting, adding that there should be 10 to 15 licenses.
And expansive buffer zones limit the number of buildings where retailers can set up shop, which could lead to sellers hiking up property rates and inflating prices, Little said in a call Tuesday.
“Anytime you have restrictive capitalism, you’ll have higher prices,” Little said.
“It’s the exact opposite of honoring those election results and the message that the voters have sent with it by doing this sort of maneuver at this meeting tonight,” she said.
Council Member Maria Veach previously took her seat through an appointment process and said she “dealt with its aftermath for my entire term.”
“I knew that really well-intentioned people won’t be given a chance, and the appointment process is brutal,” Veach said. “Unfortunately, what we’re tasked with is unprecedented yet again.”
Berrett’s appointment failed on a 2-2 vote, with Walsh and Council Member Richard Crosby voting for her selection and Benson and Veach voting against. The city attorney said that, in the event of a tie, state law allows the mayor to appoint a new council member. Walsh immediately appointed Berrett, eliciting boos from the audience.
During public comment, multiple people spoke against Berrett’s selection, with some raising concerns about the process and some saying they knew little about her except that she had ties to a group that held a forum featuring Walsh in the runup to the election. (Walsh received just one-third of the votes in the November election, losing to Tunheim.)
Berrett didn’t address that head-on, but said she would tell people a little bit about herself. She said she has been an Orono resident for 29 years and has a “servant’s heart,” adding that she had served on a parents’ association and a parish council.
