A planned lottery to give some would-be cannabis business owners a licensing head start won’t go forward early this week after a judge halted the process Monday.

Ramsey County District Court Judge Stephen Smith sided with a group of applicants who had been denied access to the social equity pre-approval lottery. They sued over a process they argued lacked clear criteria and that left no room for appeals.

“There’s no lottery tomorrow,” Smith ruled toward the end of an hourlong online hearing. He said the state was free to file an appeal.

Ahead of the hearing, officials with the Office of Cannabis Management warned that the lottery might not happen at all if it was postponed given the cost and logistics of putting it on.

Contest disqualification

Attorney David Asp, who represented some of the applicants, told Smith that the lottery was rushed and that people who were denied entry deserved a chance to contest their disqualification.

“The state doesn’t dispute that our client will suffer irreparable harm if this order isn’t entered. That’s usually one of the main issues in an injunction, but it’s not a dispute here. Our clients will be harmed. As I said, more than $1,000,” Asp said. “The harm on the OCM side is entirely of their own making.”

The Office of Cannabis Management had defended its process, saying they were attempting to root out applicants looking for a quick profit instead of actually setting up legitimate businesses. Officials with the regulatory agency said that some applications appeared to have been put in on behalf of other entrepreneurs trying to get a foothold in Minnesota’s nascent market.

“The Legislature chose for this pre-approval process to be an efficient and expedient one, and part of that is evidenced by the fact that there is no appeals provided for for the pre-approval process, whereas in the final license approval process, there is an availability for reconsideration,” said the agency’s attorney, Ryan Petty. “So a major factor of this is the Legislature’s decision to make this process efficient and expedient so that the social equity applicants can get that head start.”

There were more than 1,500 applicants for this stage of the licensing process, the agency said. The lottery was to narrow that down to 282.

When the judge asked Petty about the timeline, including the lottery being scheduled shortly after denial letters went out, Petty said the selection process involved several moving parts.

“There wasn’t any hiding the ball here. There wasn’t any attempt to restrict the ability of applicants to challenge their denials,” he said.

Setup for retail market has been slow

State lawmakers legalized cannabis for adult recreational use in 2023, but the setup of a retail marketplace has been slow. No licenses have been issued for commercial growers or sellers ahead of what is expected to be an early 2025 launch.

People can grow their own marijuana and give away small quantities. American Indian tribes have also opened their own stores, but those sales are limited to reservation land.

The social equity lottery is intended to give a leg up to people who live in high-poverty areas, those harmed by the war on drugs, and military veterans.

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The duality of veteran quarterback Sam Darnold is something that has come to define the Vikings at different points of this season.

He has the arm talent to make some throws that completely defy logic. He also has the irrational confidence to take some risks that probably shouldn’t be taken.

If he’s able to strike a balance of being aggressive without being reckless, Darnold can take the Vikings as far as they want to go. He proved that on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field as he led the Vikings to a 30-27 overtime win over the Chicago Bears.

Not only was it the best game Darnold has played since signing with the Vikings, it might have been the best game of his career. He completed 22 of 34 passes for 330 yards and a pair of touchdowns while showcasing a level of toughness that was required to win the game.

Asked if he learned anything specific watching Darnold rise to the occasion, head coach Kevin O’Connell was effusive in his praise, saying, “Show me somebody that had a better game at the quarterback position.”

Maybe the only person that could challenge Darnold in that respect this week is rookie QB Caleb Williams. His spectacular play helped the Bears stay within striking distance against the Vikings before they shockingly forced overtime.

That simply the stage for Darnold to play hero.

“You’ve got to get ready to go back out there and execute at a high level,” Darnold said. “I feel like our offense did a really good job of that in overtime.”

No doubt Darnold was the main reason for that. After watching helplessly from the sideline while the Vikings melted down in the final minutes of regulation, he walked back onto the field in overtime knowing a score of any kind would end the game.

“I could see it in his eyes,” receiver Jordan Addison said. “We were going to win.”

As chaotic as the game had gotten at that point, Darnold provided a calming presence in the huddle. His combination of confidence and charisma uplifted everybody around him in the biggest moments.

“He never flinches,” right tackle Brian O’Neill said. “He’s the same guy no matter the situation.”

After a misread on his part resulted in a sack to start the drive, Darnold immediately got back on track, moving the chains with a 13-yard completion to Addison, a 20-yard completion to Justin Jefferson and a 29-yard completion to tight end T.J. Hockenson.

It was the personification of excellence from Darnold in overtime as he completed 6 of 6 passes for 90 yards. That made life easy for kicker Parker Romo, and he did his job, nailing a 29-yard field goal for the win.

“Just a resilient effort by everybody,” Darnold said. “I’m very proud of that.”

Now, as the Vikings head into the home stretch, they should feel confident that Darnold is capable of taking them on a playoff run.

There were questions about that earlier this month after a disastrous performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Though many assumed he had turned back into a pumpkin, Darnold bounced back with a strong effort against the Tennessee Titans.

He followed that up by putting the Vikings on his back in Chicago.

“If he continues to play quarterback at a high level, I think we’re a tough team,” O’Connell said. “He has done a really nice job a couple of weeks in a row.”

Does it mean the Vikings are going to win the Super Bowl? No.

Does it mean the Vikings are capable of competing for the Super Bowl? Yes.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) runs with the ball during overtime of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Chicago. The Vikings won in overtime 30-27. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

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The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week 12: Last-minute moves

Major League Baseball announced tweaks to the schedule for the upcoming season on Monday, one of which involves the Twins and now leaves them hosting home games over the Fourth of July weekend.

The locations for the series that the Twins and Tampa Bay Rays will play against each other have been flipped with the Twins now hosting the Rays from July 4-6. Games will begin at 3:10 p.m. on the holiday and 1:10 p.m. the next two days. They will travel to Florida to play the Rays from May 26-28, during the dates in which they were originally supposed to host the Rays.

The changes to the schedule were made after Hurricane Milton battered Tropicana Field, the Rays’ home, last month and tore off much of the roof, rendering the field unplayable next season. The Rays will play their home games next season at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the New York Yankees.

In a release, the league said the schedule changes were made “to optimize the number of games played in the best weather conditions given the Rays’ transition to an outdoor ballpark.”

So now the Twins, who were supposed to have a nine-game homestand in late May, will have a six-game homestand followed by a 10-game road trip in which they must travel from Tampa to Seattle. They will play in two minor league parks on that trip, as they also head to Sacramento, Calif., to take on the Athletics, who have relocated from Oakland.

That extended road trip replaces the one they were scheduled to have in late June and early July, in which they were originally scheduled to play in Detroit, Miami and Tampa Bay. With the three new home games that month, they will now have a nine-game homestand leading into the all-star break.

An one-time St. Paul police officer pleaded guilty Monday to causing a negligent fire at the building that housed his and his wife’s restaurant.

Prosecutors initially charged Tou Mo Cha, 56, with second-degree arson. That charge will be dismissed at sentencing. He admitted Monday to the negligent fire charge, which is also a felony.

Tou Mo Cha in a March 26, 2024, booking photo. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Cha is due to be sentenced in February. He faces 30 days in custody and $22,500 in restitution due before sentencing, but he could have to pay more later to the building’s owner, according to a court record.

The fire at Checker Board Pizza on Arcade Street at Jenks Avenue in St. Paul happened on Aug. 9, 2023, about 1:25 p.m. Law enforcement reviewed video from several cameras and saw a person, later identified as Cha, exiting Checker Board Pizza and then going into the building’s apartment entry, according to a criminal complaint. Cha walked away and the apartment entry started on fire.

The bar and upstairs portion of the building had been undergoing renovations for years, Cha said when he was charged earlier this year, adding that he still opened the kitchen for takeout and delivery before the fire.

When Cha was a St. Paul police officer, he was charged in 2004 with lending his department-issued handgun. The gun was used in a pair of drive-by shootings that targeted members of the Hmong community; no one was injured. Cha pleaded guilty to making terroristic threats in 2005 and resigned from the police force.

In 2019, Cha was sentenced to 90 days in jail for an assault outside Checker Board Pizza the year before.

The case was at the center of an incident that resulted in the firing of five St. Paul police officers.

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