DULUTH, Minn. — At 4:20 p.m. Tuesday, Legacy Cannabis debuted as the state’s first licensed adult-use dispensary, offering cannabis flower and other products.

“It’s historic,” Josh Wilken-Simon, lead consultant for Legacy Cannabis Duluth, said of the opening and its quirky timing, a nod to marijuana slang. “In most other states, the first licensed dispensaries are all your big, multi-state corporations. So for a small, independent, family-owned Minnesota business to be the first state-licensed dispensary in Minnesota is groundbreaking.”

Minnesota legalized adult-use cannabis in 2023. Legacy began the complex application process to become compliant in a highly regulated market about a year ago.

Now that the Lincoln Park business has broken the seal, Wilken-Simon anticipates more small dispensaries will soon follow suit to create a strong craft cannabis market statewide — one not solely driven by massive corporations, he said.

“A lot of us fought for many, many years to try to ensure that Minnesota’s legal cannabis industry would be focused on small, craft businesses with an emphasis on social equity for people who were negatively affected by the ‘war on drugs,’ and time will tell how that plays out,” Josh Wilken-Simon said.

The business first opened as Legacy Glassworks in 2010 and moved to 1906 W. Superior St. last year after a rebrand.

Upon entering the storefront, identification is scanned to ensure all occupants are at least 21 years old. Digital payments are accepted. The facility has a state-of-the-art camera system, employee badge entry and security gates over the windows when closed.

The 1,500-square-foot shop operates as a dispensary, offering more than 100 THC beverages, more than 100 different edibles, cannabis seeds and more.

“We currently offer a ton of locally made glass pipes. We offer the low-potency hemp edibles,” Wilken-Simon said Tuesday morning. “And then starting this afternoon, we’ll have actual cannabis flower and vapes and carts from the White Earth Nation.” Legacy sells 16 strains.

The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management said in a news release that the state’s 37 licensed cannabis businesses — including 23 microbusinesses — have been waiting for the product supply to be established.

“With Tribal-state cannabis compacts now in place with the White Earth Nation and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, state-licensed retail businesses are working in partnership with Tribal Nations to procure safe, tested cannabis products at wholesale in order to stock their shelves,” the news release said. Tribal cannabis dispensaries have been selling their own recreational cannabis for more than two years.

On Monday, the state’s regulatory office issued medical cannabis combination business licenses to Green Goods and RISE, which will offer both medical and adult-use products.

“All eight of Green Goods’ dispensaries (located in Minneapolis, Blaine, Bloomington, Burnsville, Duluth, Moorhead, Rochester, and Woodbury) opened adult-use sales” Tuesday morning, the news release said. “RISE will begin adult-use sales on Wednesday at dispensaries in Brooklyn Park, Eagan, Mankato, New Hope and Willmar, and their three other sites will follow soon.”

Once more products become available, 20-milligram beverages, in addition to 200-milligram cannabis edibles, will be offered at Legacy, Wilken-Simon said.

The shop will shine a spotlight on local growers, producers and extractors, in addition to the local glass artists supplying its pipes. Legacy also sells handcrafted pipes by 93 local glass blowers, work from over 100 nationwide artists, clothing and other merchandise.

All products are securely displayed in locked glass cases.

Secured smell jars with a sample of the product will allow customers to take in the aroma and observe it under the light.

All cannabis products will be stored in a vault until purchased for security. All items are displayed in terms of packaging.

“There’ll be a bunch of different strains offered, different sizes, from just flower to pre-rolls, and then carts and vaporizers,” Wilken-Simon said. “As the days go on, and more tribes sign their compact, more state-licensed folks get plants in the ground, our product selection will just expand.”

Staff are available to educate customers on terpene profiles. Terpenes are natural compounds that affect the strain’s aroma, flavor and effect.

“We pride ourselves on having a very knowledgeable staff and being able to help someone brand new to cannabis, also somebody that’s a well-seasoned vet,” Wilken-Simon said.

Customers are limited to buying 2 ounces of cannabis flower, up to 800 milligrams of edibles and 8 grams of concentrate at a time. Purchases are entered into a database to track.

The state cannabis tax is currently 15%, in addition to the sales tax.

On Sept. 27, Legacy Cannabis will host the Legacy Cup, the largest cannabis festival in the Midwest, at Surly Brewing Festival Field in Minneapolis from noon to 8 p.m.

The Office of Cannabis Management notes that it continues to accept cannabis-event applications, which have been available since Aug. 1. The event license authorizes the holder to plan and host temporary cannabis-related events featuring on-site sale and use of adult-use cannabis products, lower-potency hemp edibles, and hemp-derived consumer products.

East Ridge High School in Woodbury was placed on a temporary lockdown Wednesday morning due to reports that a student brought a weapon to school.

“Bringing a weapon to school is never allowed and always has consequences,” the school wrote in a message to parents and guardians. “We will follow our standard procedures as outlined in the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.”

Mid-morning, the school administration received a report that a student may possibly had a weapon in a backpack. According to the school, a safety protocol was followed and the school was placed on a 10-minute lockdown hold, “to locate the student(s) involved, conduct interviews and review school video footage.”

Parents and guardians were initially notified of the situation at 11:30 a.m., and no students or staff were harmed.

The school then placed an additional hold to further investigate the situation. Woodbury police and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents with firearm detection dogs arrived to investigate the scene and the student involved was removed from the building, according to South Washington County Schools.

“SoWashCo Schools uses the Standard Safety Response Protocol, which is based on five actions for safety,” the school wrote in the message to parents and guardians. “Students and staff are trained on these procedures and practice drills throughout the school year.”

When the initial report was made, the school resource officer responded immediately and confiscated a knife from the student’s backpack, the school stated.

“In order to be as thorough as possible that a weapon was not present in our school today, (…) a canine search was conducted in every space of our school in question, and there was no evidence of firearms being present on our campus,” the school stated in their message to parents and guardians at 1 p.m.

According to East Ridge High School, no threats were made and no one was injured.

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“This incident caused a significant disruption to our school day and we are grateful for the cooperation of our students, staff and families,” the school stated. “We are also thankful for our partnership with the Woodbury Police Department for their immediate action to support our school today with resources to assist in our investigation.”

A message to parents and guardians stated that students may experience anxiety and fear due to the incident and were encouraged to reach out to the school’s support staff or report safety concerns through the school’s Tip Portal.

“Additionally, as family members, never hesitate to reach out to us with any concerns you see or hear in the school or community,” the message stated.

The message also stated that students are often aware of situations before adults and that adults should discuss with them the importance of promptly reporting any safety concerns to a trusted adult at school.

“The safety and well-being of our students and staff is our primary concern. But it takes all of us, working together, to ensure safety in our schools and our community,” East Ridge Principal James Smokrovich stated in a message to parents and guardians.

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel defended the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files Wednesday as he returned to Capitol Hill for a second day to face intense questioning from Democrats over his promises of transparency surrounding the wealthy financier’s criminal case.

The political blowback over the Trump administration’s decision in July not to publicly release more investigative files from Epstein’s case was at the center of Patel’s five-hour appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.

It followed an at-times raucous hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday during which Democrats focused their attention on their criticism that Patel has politicized the bureau and turned it into a weapon against Trump’s perceived enemies.

Here’s a look at some key takeaways from Wednesday’s hearing:

FBI Director Kash Patel is sworn in as he appears before the House Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Tense moments surrounding the Epstein files

Some of the most explosive exchanges centered around the Justice Department’s handling of files related to the Epstein sex trafficking investigation as well as the FBI director’s past comments that raised conservatives’ hopes that the Trump administration would unearth new bombshells.

The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, played a clip from a 2023 interview in which Patel said that the FBI had Epstein’s “black book” with client names. After a lengthy review, the Justice Department in July said there was no evidence a so-called “client list” existed and it would not be publicly releasing any more files in its possession.

“How did you go from being a crusader for accountability and transparency for the Epstein files to being a part of the conspiracy and cover up?” Raskin said.

In another heated moment, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California peppered Patel with questions about whether he told Attorney General Pam Bondi that Trump’s name was included in the Epstein files.

When Patel didn’t immediately answer, Swalwell asked again more slowly, prompting Patel to snap back: “Why don’t you try to spell it out if you’re going to mock me? Use the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F.”

The FBI director repeatedly defended his handling of the files and insisted the FBI had released everything that it was “legally allowed” to. He pointed to judges’ rulings denying Justice Department requests to unseal grand jury transcripts in the case. Those rulings, however, don’t bar the Justice Department from releasing other investigative files related to the case.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., speaks with FBI Director Kash Patel as he appears before the House Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

FBI may look into Epstein birthday letter signature

Patel signaled that the FBI would investigate Trump’s claim that a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein purportedly carrying the president’s signature was forged. The letter was released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee earlier this month after being handed over by the Epstein estate.

Trump has denied writing the letter bearing his name and what appears to be his signature includes text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a curvaceous woman. The president and the White House have repeatedly said it’s not his signature. The letter was included in a book prepared for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.

The FBI director’s comment came in a line of questioning from Democrat Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who pushed Patel to say whether he would be “opening up an investigation into the Epstein estate for putting out a fake document.”

Patel initially responded: “On what basis?” But when Moskowitz asked again, Patel responded: “Sure, I’ll do it.” It’s not clear, however, whether the FBI would formally open an investigation and what such a probe would look like.

Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speaks as FBI Director Kash Patel appears before the House Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025.† (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

‘You have been a disgrace to the American people’

As was the case with Patel’s appearance one day earlier before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Wednesday’s hearing featured fiery — and, in at least one instance, expletive-marked — exchanges with Democrats.

That includes a shouting match with Swalwell, who said that a federal judge in New York had called “(expletive)” on the Justice Department by rejecting a request to unseal grand jury testimony in the cases against Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Patel repeated that expletive back to him when Swalwell asked him whether he would recuse from any investigations or adverse actions into any of the people, like himself, who were singled out as “members of the Executive Branch Deep State” in a book that Patel wrote before he became director earlier this year.

“I’m going to borrow your terminology and call (expletive) on your entire career,” Patel angrily shouted. “You have been a disgrace to the American people.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., speaks as FBI Director Kash Patel appears before the House Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Praise from a Democrat on crime

Trump was roundly supported, as expected, by Republicans but picked up praise during a deeply polarized political climate from Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee for the FBI’s participation in a law enforcement surge in Memphis called Operation Viper.

Trump on Monday announced with Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee that National Guard troops would be deployed to the city to combat crime and join a special task force in the city comprised of officials from various federal agencies, including the FBI and DEA.

Lee has said the goal was to “accelerate the positive momentum of Operation Viper,” a federal crime-fighting mission in Memphis.

“You did a good job. The police director and the mayor have told me that has been helpful, the FBI working with the police,” Cohen said. “They know Miranda rights. They know how to do policing, and they do a good job working with the police.”

The White House posted on social media that the Memphis total crime rate was higher than the national average and suggested that it had increased since last year, bucking national trends. That’s despite Memphis police recently reporting decreases across every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in previous years. Overall crime hit a 25-year low, while murder hit a six-year low, police said.

“We’ve got some crime, but it’s not a troubled city. We’re not troubled,” Cohen said.

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‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ became a notable moment

Republicans focused attention on one of Trump’s chief grievances, the long-concluded federal investigation into ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump has derided the investigation as a “hoax,” “witch hunt” and “Russia, Russia, Russia,” and Patel on Wednesday said the fact that it was launched at all was a “massive scandal.”

The investigation did not establish criminal collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, but multiple government reviews — including reports from the Justice Department inspector general and former special counsel Robert Mueller — found that the investigation had been opened for a legitimate purpose and that Russia interfered in sweeping fashion in that year’s election.

Patel confirmed to lawmakers that the FBI was investigating different aspects of the Trump-Russia investigation, including leaks to the news media, the discovery of documents from the probe that were found in so-called “burn bags” inside FBI headquarters and the production of an intelligence community assessment that was published in January 2017 and that documented Russian interference.

It is not clear whether any of these inquiries will produce charges or what crimes agents and prosecutors think may have been committed, if either.

Asked during the hearing if there was “more to be done to uncover the depths and origins of the Russia collusion hoax?”

“There is,” Patel replied, “and we’re doing it.”