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While Minnesota’s cannabis industry wades through regulations, Wisconsin’s accelerates without many

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While Minnesota’s cannabis industry wades through regulations, Wisconsin’s accelerates without many


Store manager Nathan Taylor at Highnorth Dispensary in Hudson, Wis., on Thursday, Oct. 03, 2024. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

That summer, the owners had to pull many of their products from shelves to comply with Minnesota’s low-dose edible regulations. And when they opened an Uptown Minneapolis location in 2023, regulators eventually nixed their THCA flower and vapes for similar reasons.

State regulators have destroyed more than 190 pounds of cannabis flower taken from retail stores, about $578,000 worth, according to Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

Those run-ins led Thompson and Johnson to open their 200-square-foot location in Hudson, Wis. Because of the lack of rules there, they can sell many of the same products they used to offer in Minnesota, including cannabis flower, high-dose edibles, THC vapes and pre-rolls. According to Johnson, the Wisconsin location outperforms its other two stores with about 30% more revenue since it opened in April 2024.

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“It was a way for us to service this customer base that we had earned their trust for a long time,” Thompson said, “and give them a place they can still come get product that’s safe, that’s tested, that they can be comfortable buying and that they’re familiar with.”

If hemp-derived THC products were a pre-legalization loophole in Minnesota, THCA is an exercise in interpretation in Wisconsin. Technically, labs should test TCHA for that 0.3% threshold only after it has converted to delta-9 from heating. But that’s not completely clear in the farm bill, meaning people can purchase TCHA products in Wisconsin, for example, that are way stronger than the 0.3% threshold after heating.

“I suppose it’s a gray-area industry, and I guess it has been since the farm bill passed,” Thompson said. “But all we’re going to do is make sure that we’re providing the best quality products that we can within the market that’s being serviced.”



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President Trump endorses Tom Tiffany for Wisconsin governor

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President Trump endorses Tom Tiffany for Wisconsin governor


President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in his bid to be the next governor of Wisconsin.

Trump announced the endorsement Tuesday night, writing on his social media platform Truth Social that Tiffany had his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”

“He will fight to advance Common Sense Values, and put WISCONSIN, AND AMERICA, FIRST,” Trump wrote.

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The endorsement puts to bed the questions of whether — and when — Trump would weigh in on the GOP primary for governor.

Tiffany, who has represented northern Wisconsin’s 7th District in Congress since 2020, was considered an early favorite to clinch the Republican nomination against Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, but recent fundraising numbers suggested Schoemann could put up a fight.

The backing from Trump has proven critical in Republican primaries across the country, and it’s almost certain to give Tiffany a boost. Four years ago, Trump’s endorsement helped propel businessman Tim Michels over former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the 2022 GOP primary for governor.

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But whether the president’s nod is a help or a hindrance in the general election is an open question, especially in a cycle that polling suggests could favor Democrats. Four years ago, Michels lost to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the general election. And almost immediately after Trump’s endorsement Tuesday, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin looked to seize on the president’s support of Tiffany as a condemnation.

“We agree with Donald Trump—Tom Tiffany has been by his side for all of it: ICE murdering Americans in the streets, the Big Ugly Bill, ending funding for the Affordable Care Act, invading Greenland, and raising every day costs,” read a statement from state Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker. “Donald Trump just made Tom Tiffany the general election nominee, and we will stop him from bringing his chaotic and dangerous agenda in November.”

At least seven candidates are running in the Democratic primary for governor, where many of them have made attacking Trump central to their campaigns. The winner of the general election will replace Evers, who is not seeking a third term.

Trump’s announcement came as part of a slate of endorsements posted to his Truth Social platform late Tuesday evening. He also endorsed Michael Alfonso, who is running for Tiffany’s soon-to-be-vacant seat in Congress.

Alfonso is the 25-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy, who represented the 7th District before Tiffany. He’s one of four Republicans running to replace Tiffany.

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Trump called Alfonso “a young ‘STAR’.”

In a post on X, Alfonso wrote that it is his “greatest honor to accept this endorsement from President Donald J. Trump,” and pledged “to be a steadfast MAGA warrior.”



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Polaris to lay off 200 Wisconsin workers, close facility in Osceola

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Polaris to lay off 200 Wisconsin workers, close facility in Osceola



The move comes after Polaris announced it was separating from Indian Motorcycle.

Powersports company Polaris has announced it plans to wind down the operations at its facility in Osceola which specializes in manufacturing Indian Motorcycle.

The move impacts roughly 200 Wisconsin workers at the facility.

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On Jan. 27, during a fourth quarter and full year earnings call for 2025, Polaris said the company expects to sell Indian Motorcycle by the end of the first quarter of 2026 to Carolwood, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles. However the company plans to maintain some stake in the company.

Polaris officials said called the sale of Indian Motorcycle was a “difficult decision” and added it was a “move that we believe is best for Polaris and Indian Motorcycle.”

In a post on X, Wisconsin Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin said:

“We have seen this story in Wisconsin too many times – a private equity firm buys a company, hollows it out, & fires its workers, all to pad their profits. It’s simply wrong.”



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Prison ordered in western Wisconsin child porn case

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Prison ordered in western Wisconsin child porn case





















Prison ordered in western Wisconsin child porn case | News | wqow.com

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