Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Monday signed a cannabis compact with the Prairie Island Indian Community, outlining how the state and tribal nation north of Red Wing will regulate cannabis together, according to the Office of Cannabis Management.

OCM says the agreement will open the door for partnership opportunities between Prairie Island and state-licensed business owners.

“This compact provides state-licensed cannabis businesses the opportunity to partner with Prairie Island Community and boost supply of product while maintaining the Tribe’s inherent sovereignty and right to self-govern,” said OCM Executive Director Eric Taubel.

Prairie Island said it plans to begin wholesaling activities with state-licensed cannabis businesses next month.

In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature passed legislation legalizing the possession, use and cultivation of cannabis in the state. The law also directed the governor to negotiate intergovernmental agreements with sovereign tribal nations sharing territory with the state.

The compacts help regulate the cannabis market and promote health and safety, OCM said.

The Prairie Island Indian Community is located on an island in the Mississippi River north of Red Wing, near Red Wing and Welch, with off-reservation trust lands also located in Goodhue and Dakota counties.

This is the third cannabis compact signed between the state and a tribal nation. The others involved the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and White Earth Nation.

A tribal nation may open up to eight off-reservation cannabis retail locations. They are limited to one retail location per city and three per county.

Prairie Island Indian Community Tribal Council President Grant Johnson said the tribe was excited to continue meeting demand in “Minnesota’s growing recreational cannabis market with the exceptional cannabis we are producing.”

“We’re very proud of the disciplined systems and processes we have created to ensure the safe, secure operation of our cannabis business on and off reservation land,” he said.

Officials say each state-tribal compact has specifics unique to each tribal nation. But all three contain similar commitments that prioritize public health and safety through product testing, data gathering and analysis, and product consistency for customers throughout the state’s cannabis market.

Sales of cannabis products off tribal lands are subject to all state and local taxes. The cannabis tax is 15% of gross receipts from retail sales of taxable cannabis products. In addition, taxable cannabis projects are subject to both the 6.875% state general rate sales tax, and any applicable local sales taxes based on where the transaction takes place.

Related Articles

Oak Park Heights: Joseph’s restaurant a step closer to becoming cannabis shop

Oak Park Heights officials to hear request to turn Joseph’s restaurant into cannabis shop

Duluth cannabis dispensary is state’s first licensed seller to open its doors … at 4:20 p.m. no less

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe signs cannabis compact with state

New York allowed pot shops to open too close to schools. Now they might have to move

As the details of large-scale instances of government fraud continue to emerge in Minnesota, Republican candidate for governor Kristin Robbins has made combating the problem central to her campaign.

A state representative from Maple Grove, Robbins is the latest Republican candidate in a growing field of challengers to Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Tim Walz to highlight the theft of taxpayer dollars by nonprofits — something acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson says likely totals at least $1 billion in recent years.

In September, federal prosecutors announced multiple charges in two separate instances of alleged Medicaid fraud: one in a state housing stabilization program and the other a children’s autism program.

Thompson has said more cases are likely to emerge, meaning fraud will continue to loom over the 2026 election. He said in September the state is “drowning in fraud” and that the state’s system of “trust but verify” no longer works.

Undated courtesy photo, circa Aug. 2025, of Kristin Robbins, who announced Aug. 20, 2025 that she is candidate for Minnesota governor in the 2026 election. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Robbins, a fourth-term lawmaker who chairs the Republican-created House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, blames state agencies under Walz’s leadership for allowing “criminals to rob us blind” and wants to create a culture of “no fraud, no excuses” in Minnesota government. She said agencies worry more about distributing benefits than making sure taxpayer money is spent responsibly.

“The goal was to shovel out as much money as possible, and that was the measure of success,” said Robbins, who has led a series of hearings this year questioning state agency leaders and others on government fraud. “I think it’s really a culture problem.”

How to respond

Fraud figures to become a major issue in next year’s election as Walz seeks an unprecedented third consecutive term as governor. Massive schemes, such those tied to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, where fraudsters stole over $250 million in pandemic-era school meal aid, are just one chunk of the theft, according to federal prosecutors. Thompson has said the recent work on Medicaid fraud grew out of the Feeding Our Future investigation.

Walz has said he has taken action to address fraud. On Sept. 16, days before the housing-related charges were announced, he issued an executive order directing agencies to “intensify” fraud detection efforts. Earlier this year he created a new anti-fraud division in the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Walz also has pointed to large-scale federal prosecutions as a sign that people are being held accountable for the theft. So far, more than 50 of the 75 defendants connected to Feeding Our Future have been convicted.

After Walz issued the September executive order on fraud detection efforts, the Minnesota DFL described his approach as taking “real steps” and accused Robbins of using the House fraud committee as a “campaign stage.”

“Kristin Robbins has focused on propelling herself into the spotlight instead of her work as Fraud and Oversight Committee chair where she’s passed 0 bills and found 0 cases of fraud,” DFL Chair Richard Carlbom said in a statement at the time. “We wish her the best of luck as she continues with this unique approach to campaigning on the taxpayers’ dime.”

Inspector General proposal

If elected next year, Robbins said she would do more than Walz has done to hold agencies and fraudsters accountable. That would include establishing an Office of Inspector General with oversight and investigative powers over all agencies, requiring a full financial audit and performance review of vulnerable state programs.

A bill to create a statewide office of inspector general had bipartisan support in the 2025 legislative session. It passed in the DFL-majority Minnesota Senate 60-7 but failed in the tied House, where DFLers had limited interest.

Walz questioned whether a statewide office would be the most efficient way to combat fraud, and it was unclear if he would back the new office.

Robbins said she’d also direct agencies to require “basic oversight practices,” such as “verifying eligibility, requiring documentation instead of attestation, hiring forensic accountants, unannounced site visits, and measuring outcomes.”

State agencies haven’t said whether they’ve fired anyone in connection to large-scale fraud in programs. On Sept. 17, however, one day before the announcement of federal charges in the housing stabilization fraud case, it emerged that the Department of Human Services’ Assistant Commissioner of Homelessness and Housing Supports, Eric Grumdahl, no longer worked for the agency.

News of his departure emerged as he was scheduled to testify before the Republican-led House fraud prevention committee. Robbins accused the Walz administration of “dodging accountability.”

Robbins said that as governor she would appoint new commissioners for state agencies, as would be expected from a new governor from a different political party.

Four in the race

Robbins is one of three prominent Republicans to announce plans to run for governor in 2026.

Kendall Qualls, a former congressional candidate and 2022 contender for the GOP gubernatorial endorsement, declared his intent in May.

Scott Jensen is back in the race after losing to Walz in 2022. He unveiled an anti-fraud agenda earlier this month.

Walz is the only DFLer who said he plans to run next year.

No Republican has won statewide office in Minnesota since 2006.

Related Articles

Melvin Carter, Jacob Frey call for local gun ordinances, including ability to ban assault weapons in city limits

MN to launch paid family, medical leave program Jan. 1. How will it work?

Letters: It’s not left or right that matters most, but the vengeful alienation

MN GOP push school safety measures over gun control. Are SROs an option?

Government shutdown’s effect on Minnesota will depend on how long it lasts

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Joe Biden on Monday completed a round of radiation therapy treatment for the aggressive form of prostate cancer he was diagnosed with after leaving office, a spokesperson said.

Related Articles

Authorities charge 2 more suspects with attack on prominent DOGE employee

North Carolina GOP advances congressional map to secure another House seat for Trump

Government shutdown means many CDC experts are skipping a pivotal meeting on infectious disease

Trump draws outrage for AI video of himself dumping waste on protestors

The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump’s ballroom

Biden had been receiving treatment at Penn Medicine Radiation Oncology in Philadelphia, said aide Kelly Scully.

The 82-year-old Democrat left office in January, six months after he dropped his bid for reelection following a disastrous debate against Republican Donald Trump amid concerns about Biden’s age, health and mental fitness. Trump defeated Democrat Kamala Harris, who was Biden’s vice president.

In May, Biden’s postpresidential office announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and that it had spread to his bones. The discovery came after he reported urinary symptoms.

Prostate cancers are graded for aggressiveness using what is known as a Gleason score. The scores range from 6 to 10, with 8, 9 and 10 prostate cancers behaving more aggressively. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.

Last month, Biden had surgery to remove skin cancer lesions from his forehead.

By SEAN MURPHY

SpaceX has settled a lawsuit filed by the maker of the popular party game Cards Against Humanity over accusations that Elon Musk’s rocket company trespassed and damaged a plot of land the card company owns in Texas.

Related Articles

Giant, floating pumpkin races draw large crowds to annual event in Oregon

Man who planned to shoot up Atlanta’s airport is arrested in a terminal following a tip, police say

Man who sent ‘So I raped you’ message sentenced to 2 to 4 years for 2013 campus assault

US man arrested in Scotland and convicted of Utah rape gets at least 5 years in prison

What to know about the Amazon Web Services outage

Texas court records show a settlement was reached in the case last month, just weeks before a jury trial was scheduled to begin on Nov. 3. The card maker said in a statement Monday that it could not disclose the terms, and SpaceX did not return email and telephone messages left with the company and its Texas lawyer seeking comment.

Cards Against Humanity, which is headquartered in Chicago, originally purchased the plot of land in 2017 as part of what it said was a stunt to oppose President Donald Trump’s efforts to build a border wall.

In its lawsuit, Cards Against Humanity alleges SpaceX essentially treated the game company’s property — located in Cameron County in far south Texas — as its own for at least six months.

The lawsuit said SpaceX, which had previously acquired other plots of land near the property, had placed construction materials, such as gravel, and other debris on the land without asking for permission to do so.

Cards Against Humanity said in an email Monday to The Associated Press that SpaceX admitted during the discovery phase of the case to trespassing on its property. The company said a trial “would have cost more than what we were likely to win from SpaceX.”

“The upside is that SpaceX has removed their construction equipment from our land and we’re able to work with a local landscaping company to restore the land to its natural state: devoid of space garbage and pointless border walls.”

The company has previously said 150,000 people had each contributed $15 toward helping purchase the land in Texas and that they had hoped to pay back those donors with proceeds from a settlement.

Over the years, Cards Against Humanity says the land has been maintained in its natural state. It also says it displayed a “no trespassing” sign to warn people they were about to step on private property.

The company was asking for $15 million in damages, which it says includes a loss of vegetation on the land.

“Were we hoping to be able to pay all our fans? Sure. But we did warn them they would ‘probably only be able to get like $2 or most likely nothing,’” the company said.