East Grand Forks sets local cannabis business registration, renewal fees
Even though cannabis has been legal in the state since 2023, the process of setting up registration, rules and the establishment
Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management has been slow.
The OCM only recently published its registration fee schedule for what it will charge the 13 different types of cannabis businesses allowed in Minnesota. With that, the city can then set its local fee schedule.
"We're getting a lot of questions on when we're going to open our registration process after these fees are formally set," East Grand Forks City Administrator Reid Huttunen told the Herald. "There's still no defined timeline for when the state is going to start issuing those."
The City Council set the fees at the maximum allowed for cities. Most businesses will pay between $250 and $500 for an initial registration fee. Microbusinesses, growing up to 5,000 square feet of plant canopy indoors, do not have an initial registration fee and low-potency hemp edible retailers pay $125 per location. Most businesses also pay a $1,000 renewal fee, but those with lower costs for an initial license will have local renewal fees between $125 and $500.
The OCM sent its proposed rules to an administrative law judge for approval last week. If the judge accepts those rules, a first batch of social equity applicants who passed a review in fall 2024 would be among the first non-tribal businesses to operate. Licenses could begin to be issued as soon as the end of April.
A moratorium on cannabis businesses within city limits expired at the end of 2024. However, the city hasn't been notified by the OCM about any new business license holders coming into the city. While the city has gotten more information in the past six months from the OCM about local rules the city has expressed frustration with the lack of communication and the lack of local control.
"They never officially sent (the local government guide). It just was all of a sudden on their website,"
Huttunen told the Herald in November 2024.
"I had been doing periodic check-ins to see what was going on so I could have my group planning meetings with our staff and then one day, 'by the way, here's your local government guide.' "
In other news, the council:
* Approved buying a playground for the Griggs Park Trailhead. The cost of construction is around $82,600 to be funded with a mix of donations,
funds from the American Crystal Sugar pollution fine and Altru Partnership Funds.
* Approved a special event permit for the East Grand Forks High School prom. The approval allows for the closure of the restaurant row parking lot on May 3 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
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Miami Herald
09-08-2025
- Miami Herald
Miami-Dade checks to the A3 Foundation are under scrutiny. One was just returned
After the A3 Foundation secured more than $1 million from Miami-Dade, the county is getting some of that money back. A $200,000 check issued on July 8 to the politically connected charity was left at a front desk in County Hall last week, a top Miami-Dade administrator said Thursday. The check was never cashed. 'It came in an envelope with my name on it,' said David Clodfelter, Miami-Dade's budget director. The refunded dollars offer the latest mystery in the A3 saga, which started with a Miami Herald article on July 19 questioning how the obscure charity had managed to secure nearly $2 million in public money from the state of Florida and Miami-Dade County and was on the verge of getting millions more from a county parks contract. Formed in the fall of 2023, the A3 Foundation still lists its headquarters in a West Miami townhouse. As of Friday afternoon, its website had no contact information and non-working links on its projects page. While the website does not list A3's leadership, state records show the charity's president is Francisco Petrirena. He works full-time as chief of staff to Miami City Manager Art Noriega. The A3 Foundation first attracted public attention when the Herald reported on last-minute legislation that mandated a vendor give the charity $250,000 a year through 2045. The required payment came from a 20-year management contract giving events company Loud and Live control of a portion of Tropical Park, where the firm helps put on the annual CountryFest rodeo each year. Miami-Dade commissioners approved the contract a day after Levine Cava unveiled a 2026 county budget proposal that slashes about $40 million in nonprofit grants. Herald coverage of A3 prompted Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to say that she'd block the planned payments to the charity in the Loud and Live contract and call for an audit of the charity's spending. County records show her budget office under Clodfelter pushed finance staff to process A3 checks, which were requested by the office of Miami-Dade Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez. Rodriguez's staff used A3 as a clearinghouse for more than $1 million in tax dollars allocated to CountryFest, the springtime rodeo that's the signature event in his district. Loud and Live said it was paid by A3 for its CountryFest expenses in 2024 and 2025. Through records requests, the Herald obtained three bare-bones invoices that A3 sent to Miami-Dade requesting money for CountryFest expenses. The recently returned check suggests at least $200,000 of the taxpayer funds wasn't needed after all. But that wasn't the message from Rodriguez's staff in recent months as the chair's office pushed for the county bureaucracy to issue the check. 'Good morning David, per our conversation here is the invoice for A3 Foundation for CountryFest,' Aldo Gonzalez, a top Rodriguez aide, wrote in a May 14 email to David Livingstone, an assistant director of the county's Parks Department. 'Can you please process this invoice as soon as possible as we are trying to close out on CountryFest.' Six weeks later, the requested check still hadn't been cut, and Gonzalez pressed Clodfelter, the county's budget director, for the money. 'Need this paid,' Gonzalez emailed Clodfelter on July 3. Attached was the original A3 invoice for $200,000 — the bill that would later generate the check returned to Clodfelter's office last week. It had no receipts or details beyond: 'Payment for CountryFest 2025.' Gonzalez did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. Petrirena did not either. A lawyer for the A3 Foundation, John Priovolos, told the Herald on Friday he would look into questions about the returned check. While Clodfelter said the $200,000 check to A3 was issued and released last month, he did not provide information on who retrieved it originally, so it's not known if the $200,000 check ever physically made it to the A3 Foundation. County records show a staffer for the County Commission picked up at least one other A3 check this year, so it's possible the $200,000 check never left County Hall. County records show Miami-Dade issued about $1 million in checks to the A3 Foundation over the last two years. Paperwork behind the checks show the taxpayer funds were requested to pay for CountryFest. Behind the scenes, the administrator of the Parks Recreation and Open Spaces (PROS) Department's budget was questioning why the foundation was getting so much money for the Tropical Park event, according to emails released this week through a Herald records request. When the request for a $200,000 check to A3 got to Parks Budget Chief Angus Laney, he noted the charity had already been paid $300,000 for that year's CountryFest, held the last weekend in April. That was well over what Parks paid the charity in 2024. 'Please note that last year's payment to the A3 Foundation was $421,000. A 19% growth in compensation seems high,' Laney wrote in a May 14 email to the county budget office. Laney wasn't just managing A3 invoices for CountryFest. He wrote that Parks had also paid $200,000 to the Miami livestock company that put on the event's cattle show. If Parks paid A3 another $200,000 on top of that, the event's cost would hit $700,000 — well over the department's $500,000 budget for CountryFest. At the time, Parks was already under budget strain, with a mandate to cut costs as Levine Cava prepared a 2026 budget proposal that would cut back on department dollars for lifeguards, landscaping and athletic fields. 'PROS is currently under directive from the Mayor to come in $6.5M below our budgeted subsidy for the current fiscal year,' Laney wrote Gonzalez, the policy and legislative director for Rodriguez, on March 11. On Friday, Clodfelter, the county budget director, released a summary of how Miami-Dade paid for CountryFest this year. He said that in addition to money from Parks and allocations from county commissioners, Miami-Dade tapped promotional budgets for Miami International Airport and PortMiami. If the $200,000 check had been cashed, Clodfelter said, money from those county-owned facilities would have covered the expense. As a result, the check would not have impacted the Parks budget. When he sent the email raising budget concerns, Laney was pushing back on Gonzalez's request for the initial $300,000 check to A3. Laney said he only had $250,000 available for the charity's CountryFest expenses. 'If we were not under that mandate, I might be able to absorb the $50K in question (though my budget is already very lean), but under the current constraints, I cannot approve payment of the $300K invoice until I have access to $50K of additional funding,' Laney wrote. The emails released by Parks this week don't show how the $50,000 gap was resolved for the $300,000 check that was issued to A3 on April 4. County records show that check was cashed. Weeks later, pressure was building on Parks to OK the second A3 check for 2025. 'I need to know if you are going to be able to process this invoice,' Clodfelter, the county's budget chief, wrote in a May 14 email to Maria Nardi, then the Parks director. There's no record of a response from Nardi, but the $200,000 check wasn't issued until early July. On Thursday, Clodfelter said the un-cashed A3 check that was returned last week can no longer be cashed. 'It was returned,' Clodfelter said. 'And I have canceled it.'
Business Wire
08-08-2025
- Business Wire
BerryDunn Showcases Thought Leadership and Expertise at 2025 MESC Conference
PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BerryDunn, a full-service accounting, tax, and consulting firm, will return for the 25th year to the Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference (MESC), taking place August 11 – 14 in Milwaukee, WI. The firm is a leading voice in Medicaid and other Health and Human Services (HHS) policy, program excellence, and healthcare data analytics, with decades of hands-on experience supporting states and territories. The MESC brings together territorial, state, federal, and private-sector leaders to discuss and collaborate on Medicaid and other HHS systems and the policies that affect them. Hot topics at MESC 2025 include systems optimization, healthcare IT strategy, and a strong emphasis on modernization, interoperability, and health equity. 'The urgency for the healthcare community to prioritize the well-being of those they serve—while modernizing systems, ensuring compliance, and driving innovation—has never been greater,' says Zachary Rioux, Principal at BerryDunn. 'Our team is deeply committed to helping clients build future-ready solutions that are both strategic and sustainable. We've supported agencies in preparing for and responding to major federal legislation like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), and we continue to guide clients through the evolving policy landscape.' BerryDunn's involvement with industry associations, governance boards, and conferences enables the consulting team to anticipate and help clients respond to developments like the recent State Health Officials (SHO) letter #25003 and upcoming changes to the Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA). MESC is a powerful gathering of ideas, experience, and purpose—and BerryDunn is proud to be part of a community that's driving meaningful change in healthcare. Several BerryDunn professionals will play a leading role in this year's conference presentations, including: Alexandra Nardo and Robert Morey will speak during a session titled 'Building the Foundation for AI: Puerto Rico's AI Readiness Roadmap.' The session explores the Puerto Rico Medicaid Program's assessment, planning process, and roadmap in support of the agency's AI considerations. Delivering purposeful results through partnership, Amber Davis, a Manager in BerryDunn's Medicaid Practice Group, will moderate a session on 'Advancing Medicaid Innovation through the CMS Leverage & Reuse Initiative.' This session will explore how states and territories are collaborating to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and accelerate innovation in Medicaid technology. Partnering with CMS and the leadership team at the Puerto Rico Medicaid Program (PRMP), Nikki Welch, Manager at BerryDunn, will present 'Leveraging Organizational Change Management (OCM) Maturity Results to Enhance Medicaid Outcomes.' This session highlights PRMP's journey to integrate OCM practices across Medicaid Enterprise Systems (MES) and how the use of BerryDunn's OCM Maturity Assessment framework has provided measurable insights that directly support program success. 'Our team members gain valuable perspective by being actively engaged in Medicaid IT and policy planning at the national and state levels,' says Ed Daranyi, BerryDunn Principal and leader of the firm's Medicaid Practice Group. 'We provide those insights and deep industry knowledge to clients across the country, supporting innovation in client solutions.' As BerryDunn celebrates 25 years at MESC, the firm remains committed to helping agencies navigate complexity with clarity, purpose, and innovation. With deep expertise in policy, technology, and program excellence, BerryDunn continues to lead with insight and impact. About BerryDunn BerryDunn is the brand name under which Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, LLC and BDMP Assurance, LLP, independently owned entities, provide services. Since 1974, BerryDunn has helped businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies throughout the US and its territories solve their greatest challenges. The firm's tax, advisory, and consulting services are provided by Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, LLC, and its attest services are provided by BDMP Assurance, LLP, a licensed CPA firm. BerryDunn is a client-centered, people-first professional services firm with a mission to empower the meaningful growth of our people, clients, and communities. Led by CEO Sarah Belliveau, the firm has been recognized for its efforts in creating a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, and for its focus on learning, development, and well-being. Learn more at
Miami Herald
07-08-2025
- Miami Herald
‘Criminals in power': Members of Congress react to news of Cuban military's secret hoard
Cuban American Republican members of Congress from Miami said they will work to freeze Cuban government assets abroad and put more pressure on foreign governments helping the regime in Havana, after a Miami Herald investigation revealed that the Cuban military has hoarded billions of dollars sitting in unknown bank accounts. The Herald obtained secret accounting documents from GAESA, the conglomerate run by Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces, showing that it had $18 billion in current assets in March last year, of which $14.5 billion were deposited in unidentified bank accounts and GAESA's financial institutions. The Herald's reporting raises questions about the government's narrative blaming the U.S. embargo as the exclusive cause of the country's severe economic crisis and the Cuban military's role in the ongoing humanitarian crisis. GAESA runs businesses in several sectors, including tourism, banking, trade and retail, and can tap into many of the island's revenue streams in foreign currency. The military conglomerate and several of its companies are under U.S. sanctions--meaning their assets in the U.S., if any, are frozen--but even so, it has managed to generate billions in revenue, the documents show. GAESA's financial statements obtained by the Herald show the conglomerate made $2.1 billion in net profits during the first quarter of 2024 and $7.2 billion during the first eight months of 2023, all while the island's electrical grid collapsed repeatedly and the government asked the United Nations for humanitarian aid to provide milk to young children. Reacting to the revelations, Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez, said he would work with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also a Cuban American, to 'hold the regime and its accomplices accountable.' 'The regime in Cuba is not only murderous and cruel, but profoundly corrupt,' Giménez told the Herald. 'The dictatorship is quick to blame U.S. policy for its woes, but it has billions of dollars tucked away in banks while the Cuban people suffer. These funds were stolen from the Cuban people, and we will use all the diplomatic and legal tools available to freeze the regime's assets and shame complicit foreign governments who profit off the continued oppression of the Cuban nation.' To implement a recent presidential memorandum, U.S. agencies are expected to issue regulations that would allow imposing secondary sanctions on foreign companies engaging in transactions with Cuban military-owned entities. U.S. Rep Mario Díaz-Balart said a bill he introduced last month to fund the State Department and other foreign operations for fiscal year 2026 would deny U.S. aid to governments or entities engaging financially with military-run entities in Cuba. 'While the regime in Havana blames the embargo, secret records show the Cuban military is swimming in cash,' Díaz-Balart said on a publication on X. 'My Appropriations bill makes sure not a dime from the U.S. taxpayer supports them and blocks aid to anyone bankrolling or doing business with the regime's oppressive security forces — full stop.' U.S Rep. María Elvira Salazar took issue with the Cuban government's denunciations of the U.S. embargo, which Cuban officials say denies the government the resources to buy foo and medicines and maintain the power grid. 'Cuba's real blockade is the Cuban dictatorship,' she said in an X publication commenting on the Herald story. 'While the regime blames the U.S. for blackouts, hunger, and medicine shortages, it's sitting on billions through its military empire, GAESA. That money isn't used to feed the people or fix the grid, it's used to suppress them.' 'The Castro mafia doesn't need help, they need to be eradicated from power and held accountable,' she added. 'Cubans' suffering is not caused by the embargo. It's caused by the criminals in power.' While that sort of rhetoric coming from Miami politicians usually prompts a reaction on government-controlled media in Havana, the Cuban government has been conspicuously silent. The Cuban government has also not responded to the information reported by the Herald about GAESA's finances. GAESA's finances are treated as military secrets, are not shared with other ministries or government agencies and are outside the purview of the government's comptroller, who is not authorized to audit them. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not reply to a request for comment for the story, nor the country's government comptroller, and the accounts of senior diplomats who actively comment on U.S-Cuba relations or revelations published in U.S. media have been muted on the subject. On Tuesday, when the Herald published the investigation, Cuba's leader Miguel Díaz-Canel tweeted about sports, the birthday of a renowned Cuban choir director and the war in Gaza.
