Three cases of animal hoarding in Minnesota since late February are filling up shelters and drawing attention to the mental health struggles that often lead to the problem.

On Thursday, The Bond Between, an animal rescue service, took in about 50 rescue cats from a home in the Iron Range.

“With the help of our fosters and volunteers, we can offer them the chance they deserve for a better life,” Jennifer Schroeder, director of rescue operations, said in a statement.

Another case involves a Crystal woman with 124 cats in her home, who was charged with several counts of cruelty in Hennepin County Court on Monday. The Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley is caring for the surviving cats. The third case, in Crosby, involving more than 100 cats rescued by Minnesota Federated Humane Societies investigators and law enforcement. Most went to the Tri-County Humane Society in St. Cloud.

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Marit Ortega, executive director of Tri-County, said they received more cats than expected.

“Getting them in, that process took five hours with about a dozen staff, two of the Minnesota Federated Humane Society agents who were on the case all day, and they stayed with us until the end. And it was a lot of work,” Ortega told MPR News on Thursday morning.

Intake at Tri-County involved scanning cats for microchips, administering vaccines and an examination — during which staff found all the cats had fleas, and many had upper respiratory infections and parasites — before getting the animals settled in with food, water, and a litter box. Next, all the cats will be spayed or neutered, microchipped and undergo further health testing. It all adds up to about $200 per animal.

“It isn’t a large expense all at once,” Ortega said. “But when this is said and done, it is a little bit of a strain.” Tri-County is actively fundraising and has received a lot of support from the community, she added.

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Cats rescued from recent hoarding situations in Minnesota

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Hoarding happens when someone has so many animals that they can no longer provide basic care, including food and water, sanitation, socialization, shelter, and access to veterinary care, according to the Animal Humane Society. If the animals aren’t spayed or neutered, the situation can quickly worsen.

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A spokesperson for the Minnesota Federated Humane Societies told MPR News on Tuesday that one of the main reasons people hoard animals is mental health struggles, and that “not every case should be charged.” Their main goal is “getting animals and people the care they need,” including more mental health resources. Concerned parties can contact the Minnesota Hoarding Task Force; the group works to educate and connect people affected by hoarding with resources.

At the same time, seeing cases of animal cruelty or neglect can be tough for shelter staff and volunteers.

“Working at an animal shelter on a good day can take its toll on those of us who choose this profession,” Ortega said. “I can tell you in our 50 years of existence at Tri-County Humane Society, we’ve never taken this many in at once… But I would say I am completely impressed by how well our staff and volunteers have just stepped up to the plate.”

The first cat, Kraemer, from the Crosby hoarding case found a new home Wednesday.

The Leopold Conservation Award is coming to Minnesota to celebrate voluntary conservation efforts on farms, ranches and forestland.

The Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present Leopold Conservation Awards to private landowners in 27 states. In Minnesota, the award is presented with state partners Minnesota Soil Health Coalition and Soil Regen to honor farmers, ranchers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land.

“The Minnesota Soil Health Coalition is leading conservation through farmers helping other farmers. We are excited to see farmers honored for their good stewardship of the land,” says Mark Gutierrez, Minnesota Soil Health Coalition executive director.

Land ethic

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes landowners who inspire others with their dedication to environmental improvement. In his influential 1949 book “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold called for a “land ethic,” an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.

“Leopold Conservation Award recipients are examples of how Aldo Leopold’s land ethic is alive and well today. Their dedication to conservation shows how individuals can improve the health of the land while producing food and fiber,” says Kevin McAleese, Sand County Foundation president and CEO.

Nominations may be submitted on behalf of a landowner, or landowners may apply themselves. The application can be found at SandCountyFoundation.org/ApplyLCA.

Applications are reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and conservation leaders from Minnesota.

Applications must be emailed to [email protected] by July 1.

The award recipient receives $10,000, and their conservation success story will be featured in a video and other outreach.

“NRCS Minnesota supports the Leopold Conservation Award because it recognizes farmers, ranchers and forest owners who show a strong conservation commitment through action as stewards of working lands,” says Troy Daniell, state conservationist.

The Minnesota Leopold Conservation Award is made possible through the generous support of American Farmland Trust, Minnesota Soil Health Coalition, Soil Regen, Sand County Foundation, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, General Mills, Audubon Minnesota, Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association, Minnesota Corn, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Ducks Unlimited, Minnesota Farm Bureau, Minnesota Farmers Union, Minnesota Wheat Research & Promotion Council, Pheasants Forever, Renovo Seed, Saddle Butte Ag Inc. and The Nature Conservancy.

“Soil Regen believes that the foundation of ag starts from the ground up,” says Liz Haney of Soil Regen. “We are honored to support the many and varied conservationists celebrated with the Leopold Conservation Award. They are the true stewards of the land.”

John Piotti, American Farmland Trust president and CEO, says “As the national sponsor for Sand County Foundation’s Leopold Conservation Award, American Farmland Trust celebrates the hard work and dedication of farmers, ranchers and forestland owners. At AFT, we believe that conservation in agriculture requires a focus on the land, the practices and the people and this award recognizes the integral role of all three.”

Source: Minnesota Soil Health Coalition

The Minnesota House voted Thursday to speed up the process for getting cannabis dispensaries lined up by giving them a route to pre-approval of operating licenses.

On a 69-62 vote, lawmakers voted to allow the office to start issuing license pre-approvals as early as this summer. Supporters say that would allow them to secure funding, rent real estate and take other steps to get up and running. They still wouldn’t be allowed to commercially grow or sell the marijuana itself.

“A number of provisions in this bill are designed to expedite the process of setting up a good legitimate marketplace for cannabis to displace that illicit marketplace that’s out there,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids. 

The proposal would also put the Office of Cannabis Management in charge of enforcement for hemp-derived edible products and medical marijuana. Those responsibilities currently fall to the Department of Health. Many of the recommendations in the bill came from the new agency overseeing the marijuana market. 

The policy changes come less than a year after lawmakers voted to permit adults 21 and up to possess and use small amounts of cannabis and to grow up to eight plants at home.

While edible hemp-derived THC products — like edibles and seltzers — have been allowed since 2022, the recreational cannabis law didn’t immediately green light the creation of dispensaries for full-fledged marijuana.

A couple of Native American tribes have opened dispensaries on their reservations under sovereign authority — more expect to before long — but other prospective dispensary owners and commercial cultivators have had to wait for the state’s go-ahead to get started.

In less than a year, the state expects a broader array of cannabis stores to be up and running. Before that can happen, growers and distributors will have to get licensed through the state.

The state intends to elevate social equity applicants from minority communities or those that were disproportionately affected by the enforcement of criminal laws around marijuana.

Some Republicans raised concerns about a change to the license eligibility system that would remove a solely merit-based selection process for deciding who gets licensed and introduce a lottery if there are more qualified applicants than available licenses. 

“This bill does some good, but it really doesn’t fix much of anything on what’s not going to work in the cannabis bill,” Rep. Nolan West, R-Blaine, said. “It does a triple backflip handstand to try and shoehorn ideological positions that are not about a safe and functioning marketplace.”

West sought to change the requirements around the lottery system to receive a license back to the merit-based system. 

Stephenson and other lawmakers said the system under the existing law would include a lottery. But the change would alter the process to get entered into the pre-application lottery.

“The difference here between current law and the bill is moving from a more subjective scoring system under current law, to a more objective sort of binary yes-no choice under this bill,” Stephenson said. “And that’s designed to make things smoother, clearer, less subject to litigation and have it happen faster.”

In other states, selection systems based solely on merit have attracted lawsuits that hampered license issuance.

But a group of cannabis entrepreneurs predicted the change would backfire. More than two dozen wrote to lawmakers this week, asking them to oppose the change. They contend that ill-prepared businesses could slip through.

“The simplicity of the lottery system allows for exploitation through application flooding, submission of spurious applications, and the manipulation of social equity measures by predatory entities,” they wrote. “Such practices undermine genuine competition and social justice efforts.”

The chamber adopted GOP amendments that would require the office to study the impact of cannabis on minors, set an 18-month window for a licensed dispensary owner to use or lose their license and set other benchmarks for getting the market going. 

The Senate plans to vote soon on a companion bill, setting up potential negotiations on a compromise plan in the final month of session. Stephenson said he would be open to changes to the lottery system as part of the conference committee debate.