Minnesota
Push at the State Capitol to keep Minnesota's medical cannabis program viable
There are 51,000 people registered in Minnesota’s medical marijuana program, and there’s growing concern that new rules for obtaining a license to grow and sell both recreational and medicinal marijuana could jeopardize the medicinal program.
Maren Schroeder is a consultant and lobbyist for Blunt Strategies and has worked with state regulators as well as businesses in the medical marijuana program.
Schroeder told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that current businesses that want to grow and sell products for recreational and medicinal use are facing economic challenges that could force them to pull out of the medicinal marijuana program.
“I think we’re going to see the large operators forced to pull out,” said Schroeder. “They would have to put up a pretty large risk in order to grow cannabis for medical cannabis because if it didn’t sell as medical cannabis, it would have to be destroyed.”
Schroeder said that for every single cannabis plant growers produce for recreational use, they have to produce two plants for the medical marijuana program. And, Schroder added, those same business licenses require growers to separate their recreational product from their medicinal product, which is not cost-effective.
“Cannabinoid products cannot be done together,” said Schroeder. “They can use the same equipment, but they have to run a medical batch, stop, clean, and then run an adult-use batch. It’s just incredibly inefficient.”
Patrick McClellan is a medicinal marijuana patient. He told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the larger producers would not want to cover those expenses and, if they pull out of the program, medicinal marijuana could collapse in Minnesota.
“People with ALS, people with cancer, people with muscular dystrophy like I have, should really be getting their medical advice from a doctor and from a pharmacist,” said McClellan. “We lose the high-potency medications, we lose housing protections, we lose employment protections, hospital protections, and we get higher prices.”
Schroeder and McClellan said they are working with state lawmakers to adjust the rules and keep the medicinal marijuana program viable.
What to know about PCBs and their impact on the Great Lakes, Wisconsin
PCBs are a class of more than 200 chemicals that are known to cause cancer.
An invasive shrimp is swimming in Lake Superior. This is the last Great Lake to be invaded — all five Great Lakes now are infested by the crustaceans..
Researchers for the first time have confirmed a breeding population of an invasive Black Sea-native shrimp in Lake Superior.
The number and extent of the shrimp’s spread in Lake Superior is not clear. However, there is a breeding population in the Duluth.
The findings by researchers at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Lake Superior Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin Superior, and the Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York, published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research in April, found that the shrimp are now reproducing and surviving year-round in the Duluth-Superior Harbor, the farthest west the European species has been confirmed.
“Samples we collected in 2025 from two locations in the Duluth-Superior Harbor, a major inland shipping port in the Great Lakes, contained juveniles, adult males, and (pregnant or with young) adult females, indicating a self-sustaining population. Additionally, we document earlier evidence from 2018 samples we collected in the harbor that contained two juvenile specimens,” the article in the Journal said.
In an interview on the CBC’s “Superior Morning” show with Mary-Jane Cormier on June 10, lead researcher Donn Branstrator, of the University of Minnesota, said studies in the Duluth-Superior Harbor this spring after ice was off the lake found adult males and females.
“It’s pretty clear evidence of overwintering,” Branstrator told Cormier. “It would be very unlikely for the population to extinguish (at this point).”
Branstrator told Cormier ongoing bi-weekly research in the harbor, and along the Lake Superior shoreline will exam those questions.
According to the research, the non-native shrimp, about a quarter to half inch long, were first detected in the lower Great Lakes in 2006 in lakes Michigan and Ontario. By 2008, they were found in lakes Huron and Erie as well.
“It has also spread to Oneida and Seneca Lakes in New York … as well as the St. Lawrence River and various canals in northern New York State,” the research said.
Branstrator said the Black and Caspian sea region natives, also have spread throughout Europe into areas they were not native. He said they likely hitchhiked with ballast or bilge water, but the exact mechanism will never be known.
What we know about bloody red shrimp.
What is a bloody red shrimp?
Bloody red shrimp are small crustaceans native to the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region of Europe. They are adapted for fresh and brackish water.
This freshwater shrimp can be ivory-yellow in color or translucent, but exhibits pigmented red pigment cells in the carapax and tail, according to the USGS.
The quarter to half inch long shrimp feed on both phytoplankton and zooplankton at various stages of life.
While relatively small, they are among the larger creatures in the Great Lakes feeding on those food sources.
“They are very large bodied, at the upper end of what we consider zooplankton,” Branstrator said.
Branstrator said the shrimp live in near-shore environments and like to hide in crevices during the day, making use of dock pilings, breakwaters and other human-made structures.
They come out at night and “swarm” together in groups of up to 135 per square foot, the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant said.
Bloody red shrimp have a lifespan of about nine months, grow to adults in just 45 days, and an produce up to four generations per year. Females have been documented to carry up to 66 eggs in a clutch. Broods carried by females in the Muskegon population ranged from two to seven.
Where have the shrimp been found?
The shrimp have spread throughout Europe and now have been found in all five Great Lakes, as well as some locations away from the lakes.
The recent study found a breeding population in the Duluth, Minnesota, harbor, the first in Lake Superior.
According to the research, the non-native shrimp, about a quarter to half inch long, were first detected in the lower Great Lakes in 2006 in lakes Michigan (near Muskegon) and Ontario. By 2008, they were found in lakes Huron and Erie as well.
A single specimen was found in Duluth in 2017, and two were found in 2018. It wasn’t until 2025 that the researchers found a sustaining population when they captured 81 individuals.
How did the shrimp arrive in the Great Lakes?
The shrimp likely hitched a ride in the ballast water of ocean-going vessels, although Branstrator noted during an interview on CBC’s “Superior Morning” that we will never know for certain.
He added that the shrimp have multiple opportunities to hitch rides with vessels during the shipping season.
What impact will the shrimp have on Lake Superior and the Great Lakes?
Branstrator said that question hasn’t been answered. They feed on the same sources as other water-dwelling creatures, but they are large enough that small fish may find them to be a new food source.
Are any shrimp native to the Great Lakes?
The opossom shrimp is a Great Lakes native and looks similar to the bloody red shrimp.
A St. Cloud Tech ninth-grader won the Minnesota State High School League Clay Shooting championship on Friday.
Allie Lauer won the title with a score of 99 and reverse run of 83, while second-place finisher Isabella Blaz (Rosemount) also scored a 99 but a reverse run of 54. LeRoy-Ostrander’s Kimberly Volkart finished in third place with a score of 98.
MSHSL:
“I was nervous coming in because the other girls are older,” Lauer said. “It was nice weather today and things worked out well. Your average (score) doesn’t really matter. Just keep a good mindset and don’t focus on the scores.”
BOYS CLAY SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP
Proctor sophomore Lane Graves took home the championship after a grueling three-way, two-round shoot-off against Rushford-Peterson’s Colton Ronnenberg (second place) and Prior Lake’s Jack Benedict.
After Benedict was eliminated in the first shoot-off, Graves outlasted Ronnenberg with a 9-7 win in round two.
TEAM CLAY SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP
The Bemidji Lumberjacks took the team title with a total score of 487, one ahead of Lakeville South and five better than both Stewartville and Spring Grove.
St. Cloud’s Stanley Cup Champion Nate Schmidt [GALLERY]
Former St. Cloud Cathedral and University of Minnesota standout Nate Schmidt will bring the Stanley Cup to St. Cloud on August 25th. Here’s a look at his career through photos.
-
Arkansas4 seconds agoCentral Arkansas bike trail breaks ground in Cabot – The Arkansas Leader
-
California5 minutes agoCalifornia bill to block registered sex offenders from local office rejected by Senate committee
-
Colorado12 minutes agoWhere to watch Miami Marlins vs Colorado Rockies: TV channel, start time, streaming for July 1
-
Connecticut15 minutes agoLamont signs law in Norwich to stop pay to contractors violating wages
-
Delaware20 minutes agoDelaware has gotten these 15 verbal commitments from football recruits
-
Florida27 minutes agoKids with autism are prone to drowning. Florida is trying to prevent that
-
Georgia30 minutes agoBradenton man wanted for murder is found hiding in Georgia
-
Hawaii35 minutes agoFew state bills this year face potential veto – West Hawaii Today
