Blackduck MN

After a lengthy public hearing and discussion, the City Council adopted its amended cannabis ordinance 4-1 to allow a business to move into the former Anderson Fabrics plant.

Plus: Essentia Health is touting an independent economic impact study of its operations around Brainerd and the Iron Range.

The Blackduck City Council hosted the first of two public hearings amending its cannabis ordinance after a cultivator expressed interest in the former Shade Store manufacturing plant.

The Council heard a proposal to bring in the industry and 150 jobs after the Shade Store closed manufacturing operations in 2025. But the cannabis ordinance would need changes.

More than 100 people crowded into the Beltrami County Board room in support of public libraries and the local museum as commissioners voted 4-1 to adopt its 2026 preliminary budget and levy.

Events this week include a car show in Grand Rapids, the Lakes Area Music Festival kickoff in Brainerd, Animal Tracks & Signs in Bagley and the Blackduck Woodcarvers Festival.

The Drakes will represent Northern Minnesota along with Brainerd, Esko, Badger/Greenbush-Middle River and Moose Lake/Willow River at the 2025 state softball tournament.

Family and fishing are big at the Kitchi Landing Resort south of Blackduck, which was once operated by Val Engelman's great-grandfather as Hagen's Resort.

While Rachel Gray loves to be in the fields raising beef cattle, she spends a lot of her day tracking markets and shares how changes like tariffs could impact the industry.

The region will be well represented in the Class A meet, with 69 entries; Northern Minnesota has five entries in the 2A meet.