Fergus Falls passes moratorium on new cannabis product sales

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – A temporary halt to the sales or licensing of THC and other marijuana products has been implemented by the Fergus Falls City Council in response to the impending August 1st legalization deadline statewide.

The city council unanimously voted for the interim ordinance during a public meeting on July 17th, an occasion that offered the opportunity for citizens to voice their opinions and give feedback on the newly proposed rule.

Emily McCune, owner of Sugar High Cannabis Consulting and Dispensary, said she was concerned the moratorium would cause delays in local permitting once the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management begins issuing the licenses.

She called for inclusion of language that states, “until January 2025 or until the state regulatory framework takes effect,” clarifying that her suggestion aims to prevent those potential delays should state regulations become effective before the proposed date. Her requested changes were not made to the ordinance.

 Andrew Bremseth, city administrator for Fergus Falls, said the new ordinance should not affect any products currently being sold at businesses in Fergus Falls.

“The moratorium that the council put in place does not impact products that are already sold,” said Bremseth. “We have a handful of shops in town and they are going to continue to operate and have the ability to sell the products they are already selling. But, they are not going to be able to go into these new markets that require additional licensing from the state until the moratorium is lifted, and until that office is created to have the ability to oversee that licensing process.”

He also said Fergus Falls city staff and council members have begun discussions about a possible banning of use of cannabis products in public spaces.

“We don’t have (a cannabis-use ordinance) in place, but we are talking about that,” he said. “That’s going to be a council discussion that takes place, but essentially looking at whether or not the use of these products should be allowed in public parks, public property and public spaces. We do have some restrictions as it relates to smoking cigarettes in public parks and I’m guessing we’ll go down the road of having some restrictions on where these products can and can’t be used publicly as well.”

The next regular Fergus Falls city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 21 at 5:30 p.m.

Zakk Daniels / KBRF News contributed to this reporting.

Thief River Falls man charged with murder in Digi-Key Corporation killing

An omnibus hearing has been set for October 2nd for a Thief River Falls man charged in the beating death of another man outside the Digi-Key Corporation on May 9th.  

A grand jury indictment released this week charges Jorge Benitez-Estremera with first degree murder and murder in the second degree.  He is accused of attacking Steven Opdahl of Oklee (MN) with the top portion of a parking pole striking him in the head and neck area.

The 32-year old Benitez-Estremera was originally charged with two counts of second degree murder and one count of assault in the third degree.

Authorities say during the initial interview the defendant admitted to assaulting a person at Digi-Key. He allegedly stated the person was “contaminated” and needed to be taken out of the system – but he did not know the person he attacked.

Story by Doug Barrett / KNOX

10 railcars derail in St. Louis county

Officials say no one was injured and no hazardous material spilled when 10 Canadian National Railway cars derailed in northern Minnesota. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office says the derailment happened Monday in a rural, unpopulated area about 6 miles north of Cook. Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters who responded found that five of the cars had tipped over. The sheriff’s office says two of the cars contained liquefied propane and butane, but none spilled. Although sheriff’s officials reported nine cars derailing, a Canadian National spokesman said Tuesday that 10 cars had derailed. The cause of the derailment is being investigated.

Story by Associated Press

ND AG determines killing of Fargo shooter justified, lawful to prevent loss of life

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley announced the killing of 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat by Fargo Police Officer Zach Robinson was justified, and ultimately necessary to prevent further loss of life.

Wrigley addressed Robinson’s “use of force” during a July 14 ambush-style shooting at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon held at the Fargo City Hall. 

“Officer Zach Robinson’s use of deadly force was reasonable,” said Wrigley. “It was necessary. It was justified. And in all ways, it was lawful.”

He also described the assault by Barakat and praised Robinson’s actions for advancing on the suspect during the incident.

“Mohamad Barakat engaged in a savage attack,” said Wrigley. “He engaged in an unprovoked, completely unprovoked, assault, by firing a long rifle. He unleashed, what can only be described as a murderous barrage of fire … as we all know the toll of that assault was three officers, one officer deceased and one civilian shot as she was trying to flee the gunfire.”

Wrigley said Barakat was using double-stacked magazines during the assault, which would allow him to fire 60 rounds before needing to reload with a new clip.

Wrigley also said a search of Barakat’s vehicle turned-up three .223 long rifles, four handguns, a suitcase of other assorted weapons, improvised gasoline explosive devices, a live, homemade-grenade and 1,800 rounds of ammunition.

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney commended the four officers involved in the attack for their bravery and feared that, without their courage, the situation may have ended in an even greater tragedy.

“Had Zach (Robinson) not neutralized the shooter, we may have had many more casulaties,” said Mahoney. “When you look at the amount of ammunition the shooter had in his car, he was planning on more mayhem in our community.”

Mahoney also said creating a safe community takes the entire city working toward that goal.

“If you want a safe community, we all are a part of this,” said Mahoney. “We all are a part to heal this as well. And this is a time when we need to grieve for our fallen officer, honor him for his service to our community, pray for our two officers who are still recovering, and, as a team, work together to continue to make our community safe and the community we love.”

Wrigley also said he plans to hold a separate press conference on Friday to address the incident as a whole and the current status of the ongoing investigation.

Wallin memorial and funeral scheduled for July 22

A public memorial and funeral service have been scheduled for Saturday to honor fallen Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin. 

The memorial will take place at Pequot Lakes High School this Saturday, July 22, followed by a private graveside service at Greenwood Cemetery in Nisswa. 

According to his obituary, Wallin had a strong commitment to service, having served in the Minnesota National Guard with deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq before joining the Fargo police department. 

His obituary also describes him as a loving person dedicated to his country, community, friends, family, fiancée, and his dog, Thor. 

Instead of flowers, memorials are being directed to the Soldier’s 6, and the city of Fargo has established the Leadership Care Fund to directly support the families of Jake Wallin and the injured officers.

Road work scheduled for July 24 on south side of Detroit Lake

No parking will be allowed along some roadways on the south side of Detroit Lake beginning on Monday morning.

According to the city public works department, on Monday, July 24 through Tuesday, July 25, roadcrews will be conducting seal coating on major roadways on the south side of the city.

The roads include are: South Shore Drive, from 270th Avenue to Long Bridge Road; Long Bridge Road, from Long Bridge to County Road 22; all of Bayridge Drive including Kohler Circle and Long Bridge Circle; Celia Street; Heritage Drive; and Kembridge Road.

No parking will be allowed on any of the affect streets beginning at 5 a.m. on July 24 and will remain in effect until the road work is complete.

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