Otter Tail County approves cannabis businesses in Pelican Rapids, Vining
Otter Tail County cleared a Pelican Rapids retail cannabis site, a manufacturing business near Vining and a farm market, putting all three one step closer to opening. The Pelican Rapids vote passed 4-1.
The Otter Tail County Board cleared a farm market and two cannabis businesses, including a Pelican Rapids retail site approved 4-1 and a cannabis manufacturing operation near Vining approved unanimously. The votes move the projects one step closer to opening, with cannabis sales still tied to Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management licensing under county rules.
Selling cannabis or lower-potency hemp edibles in Otter Tail County requires both a state license and county registration, according to the county’s cannabis licensing page. That framework reflects a policy shift that started years before these approvals. In November 2022, county officials were already weighing an interim ordinance and moratorium on hemp-derived THC food and beverages after Minnesota legalized certain THC products, and by Aug. 1, 2023, adults 21 and older could legally use, possess and grow recreational cannabis in Minnesota.
The county spent much of 2024 formalizing its rules. A public hearing notice on a cannabis ordinance said the county intended to mitigate health risks, prevent youth access, enhance public safety and encourage compliance. A December 2024 draft packet carried the title Ordinance to Regulate Cannabis and Lower-Potency Hemp Businesses, and county project materials also show a cannabis businesses and public use ordinance. That work set the stage for the board to stop talking about hypothetical rules and start deciding specific sites.
Pelican Rapids has already been one of the county’s most closely watched locations as officials work through buffer requirements and other land-use questions. One of the recurring issues has been whether Veterans Memorial River Park is regularly used by minors, a designation that can affect how close a cannabis business may operate. The approval in Pelican Rapids shows the county is now translating those rules into real storefront decisions instead of only debating the ordinance language.
The farm market approval adds a different piece of local commerce, one tied to agriculture and rural entrepreneurship rather than cannabis. Together, the decisions point to a county that is trying to keep new business activity inside its own borders, where it can add jobs, widen the tax base and shape how new industries fit alongside existing neighborhoods, parks and commercial corridors.
Otter Tail County has been moving from early caution to active siting decisions since cannabis became legal for adults in Minnesota. With the state Office of Cannabis Management still setting licensing rules and counties handling local registration and land use, the board’s latest votes show how quickly policy is becoming storefront reality in Pelican Rapids, Vining and beyond.
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