COOK- A proposal to establish a cannabis cultivation facility in Linden Grove Township will go before the township board later this month, giving residents an opportunity to weigh in on a project its owner says could eventually create dozens of jobs while supplying the inventory for his Cook cannabis dispensary.
The Linden Grove Town Board has scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, to gather public input before deciding whether to support the proposal. Township clerk Rick Deatherage said the board intentionally delayed discussion after the proposal was introduced at its June meeting so residents would have advance notice and an opportunity to attend.
“We wanted to put it in the paper that we’re requesting input,” Deatherage said. “Otherwise, it’s hard for the board to really know what people’s thoughts are here.”
The proposal comes from John Chaulklin, owner of the Weed Wishes cannabis dispensary in Cook. Chaulklin owns a 17-acre parcel about eight miles west of Cook on Caribou Road, where he hopes to begin growing cannabis rather than purchasing products from wholesale suppliers.
Chaulklin said his plans would begin with a relatively modest outdoor operation.
“My first phase is an outdoor grow, which I can have a half an acre with my current license,” he said. His long-term plan calls for expanding the outdoor operation to an acre before constructing a 5,000-square-foot indoor cultivation facility capable of year-round production.
He said the phased approach reflects both the financial realities of launching the business and the long-term vision for the project.
“I’ve got to baby step this thing,” he said. “I don’t have an endless supply of cash, and the banks are still pretty difficult to work with.” Chaulklin said he is self-funding the project and plans to expand it gradually as he can afford it.
Chaulklin said the project’s biggest benefit would be employment.
“I guess the biggest advantage to having a cultivation center in Cook is that I can hire upwards of eight to 10 people with a $20-an-hour wage, starting out,” he said. If the business eventually expands to indoor production, he estimated it could support 20 to 30 full-time jobs.
“We need to diversify our industries up here,” he said. “What better industry to get into than this brand new industry in the state of Minnesota.”
The proposal faces a significant hurdle before any cultivation could begin.
According to Chaulklin, the property is currently zoned for agricultural use, while St. Louis County requires cannabis cultivation facilities to be located in industrial or light industrial zoning districts. He said changing that zoning requirement will likely be the biggest obstacle facing the project.
Chaulklin argues his rural property is well suited for the use because it is located on a dead-end road with few nearby homes. He also emphasized that the site would be strictly for cultivation, not retail sales, so there would be no customer traffic. He said the facility would be enclosed by a six-foot security fence and monitored by cameras and other security systems.
While Chaulklin acknowledged many people view cannabis primarily as a recreational product, he said he believes it also offers significant medicinal benefits and hopes expanding cultivation will make it more widely available to consumers.
Deatherage said the township board has not taken a position on the proposal and wants to hear from residents before deciding how to proceed. The board could choose to submit the permit application on Chaulklin’s behalf, support an application filed by Chaulklin, or decline to support the proposal.