In the first case of its kind in Minnesota, the state is suing the Zaza Cannabis Dispensary after finding products in its stores that contained more than 70 times the legal limit of THC.

The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) is seeking destruction of the products with illegal amounts of THC, the intoxicating substance in marijuana.

The lawsuits filed in Hennepin and Ramsey county courts followed a September inspection of Zaza that was prompted in part by complaints from the public about the potency of the stores’ products.

State inspectors, the lawsuits said, caught employees smuggling illicit products out the back door during the inspections.

Zaza operates stores in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. Employees answering the phone at those locations said they could not comment on the lawsuits.

“The Office of Cannabis Management takes seriously its responsibility to protect the health and safety of Minnesotans and ensure compliance within the hemp-derived cannabinoid marketplace,” said Josh Collins, a spokesman for OCM, said in a statement.

The action marks the first time that the state agency has sued a cannabis retailer.

Minnesota legalized hemp-derived THC products in 2019, including low-potency forms of the drug, but kept more intoxicating higher-potency products illegal, including “vape pens” and hemp flower that includes more than 0.3% of any form of THC, the lawsuit says.

The Minnesota State Auditor’s Office has ended its review of controversial Orono land deals that transferred property rights to city officials and became a point of debate in recent elections.

The City Council in recent years vacated public rights-of-way on property for Planning Commissioner Bob Erickson and Council Member Matt Johnson. Critics said the moves potentially made their land more valuable while also reducing public access to the lakeshore.

A group of former Orono mayors asked the auditor’s office in 2022 to investigate, saying they believed the deals represented a conflict of interest and went against longstanding policies aimed at preserving public access to Lake Minnetonka. Officials who defended the deals, meanwhile, described them as an effort to clean up century-old land records that hindered development.

In a September memo, shared with the Minnesota Star Tribune this week, the state auditor’s office wrote that it was clear the land deals had been controversial.

“However, we do not see a basis for further OSA inquiry into them, as such inquiry would have to be based in determinations that either are for courts to decide (e.g., were the vacations beyond the broad discretion afforded to the City Council for such matters) or left to the will of the voters, who ultimately judge the wisdom of the City’s elected council members in their exercise of the power given to them,” the memo said.

Neither Erickson nor Johnson could immediately be reached for comment.

In an interview Friday, State Auditor Julie Blaha said her office’s review focused on two main points: whether Orono city leaders overstepped their authority and whether there was a conflict of interest.

Blaha said the transfers didn’t “hit that bar of being clearly outside the public interest in a way we could decide that,” though she left open the possibility “a court could decide that.”

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department, will also lead a newly created National Energy Council that will seek to establish U.S. ‘’energy dominance’’ around the world.

Burgum, in his new role, will oversee a panel that crosses all executive branch agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, Trump said in a statement. As chairman of the National Energy Council, Burgum will have a seat on the National Security Council, Trump said.

”This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over longstanding, but totally unnecessary, regulation,” Trump wrote. His new policies will help drive down inflation, win an ”arms race” with China over artificial intelligence and even expand U.S. diplomatic influence around the globe, Trump claimed without explanation.

He accused the ”radical left” of engaging in a war on American energy, in the name of fighting climate change. His policy of energy dominance, which he also espoused during his first term, will allow the U.S. to sell oil, gas and other forms of energy to European allies, making the world safer, Trump said.

Trump has called oil and natural gas, along with minerals such as lithium and copper, ”liquid gold” that should be exploited to the maximum extent possible.

We will ”DRILL BABY DRILL,” expand ALL forms of Energy production to grow our Economy, and create good-paying jobs,” Trump said.

Burgum, 67, was elected North Dakota governor in 2016, his first campaign for elected office. A former software executive, he led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for $1.1 billion in 2001. Burgum has also led other companies in real estate development and venture capital.

Burgum has taken a pro-business style as governor of a state where agriculture and oil are the main industries. He’s pushed income tax cuts, reduced regulations, and changes to animal agriculture laws and higher education governance. Burgum also emphasized a ”data-driven” approach to governing, advocated for a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in the state and prioritized engagement with tribal nations.