Tobacco ordinance remains unlit

Final passage and authorization of a county tobacco ordinance is still in the air despite being passed by the Carlton County Board of Commissioners Dec. 23. On Tuesday, Cromwell gas station owner Lance Line stated his concern at the board’s first meeting of the year. He said the new ordinance bans sales of menthol products but city ordinances could supercede the county law, meaning customers could seek out cities without a ban on menthol and get their products there.

Line said the ordinance would affect adults that had smoked or chewed menthol products for decades. The financial impact on some of the small businesses affected could be severe, he said, and the county was “overreaching” and suggested they let the federal government address the issue.

Federal action came late this last year with President Trump signing a ban on tobacco product sales — including cigarettes, plus tobacco and vaping products — to anyone under the age of 21, to take effect in September. In its last session, the Minnesota Legislature worked on this and the rising effects of flavored tobacco products, particularly vaping liquids. A bill passed the House and one Senate committee heard the proposal but it was not presented for a vote of the full Senate.

Anti-smoking advocacy groups still want the state to stiffen enforcement of the age 21 requirement and to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products and vaping liquids. More than 50 Minnesota counties and cities already ban the sale of tobacco products to those under the age of 21.

Commissioner Tom Proulx admitted he didn’t do enough research before the vote in December.

“I didn’t know I was banning Skoal (snuff) and menthol cigarettes,” he said.

County attorney Lauri Ketola told the Pine Knot News that the ordinance passed by the board doesn’t have an effective date yet, and noted that the local law is likely more restrictive than the federal ruling will be.

Until there is a date set, and likely more board discussion, the county ordinance will remain inert.

“In our area, Moose Lake and Cloquet have said they will consider going the same way the final tobacco ordinance unfolds,” Bodie said in response to Line. “There is plenty of time for discussion and changing parts of the ordinance before a final decision is made.”

The county board decided to have further discussion on the tobacco ordinance during the committee of the whole meeting at 4 p.m. Feb. 4, and will probably call for another public hearing.

Organizing

Commissioner Marv Bodie from Thomson Township was named the new chairman of the Carlton County Board of Commissioners at its reorganizational meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 7. The chairman position is rotated among the five commissioner districts each year and this is Bodie’s second tenure in that position.

Proulx, of Cloquet, was elected vice-chair of the board and will also serve as chair of the committee of the whole each month. Commissioner Gary Peterson was elected vice chair of the committee of the whole in the rotation cycle.

As part of the annual organizational meeting, the board approved a joint bid from the Moose Lake Star Gazette and the Pine Knot News to publish legal notices as the official newspapers after discussing the extra cost for two papers versus the exposure afforded to residents in both the northern and southern parts of the county.

Pine Knot News editor Jana Peterson said state law outlines a priority for choosing a legal paper and the first consideration must be whether a newspaper has its primary office in the jurisdiction. Both the Star Gazette and the Pine Knot News have their main offices in Carlton County.

When asked for their opinions on using both newspapers and the additional cost, commissioner Greg Bernu and zoning and environmental services administrator Heather Cunningham both said they already place many of their notices in both newspapers and the local shoppers. Additionally, all notices are found on the Carlton County website. Peterson said the Pine Knot News legals are also posted to a statewide website that is searchable.