Are Lemonade Stands in Olmsted County Illegal?
Believe it or not some kids run into legal trouble over trying to make a couple bucks selling lemonade over their summer vacation. Yes, seriously! But is it illegal within the state of Minnesota?
I bring this up because I recently saw a new campaign launched by Country Time Lemonade where they're standing up for lemonade stands around the country. In some areas of the U.S., including Minnesota, it's technically illegal to sell lemonade without a permit. Think about that for a second: These poor kids have to go buy a permit first, some of which are so expensive that it kind of makes selling those 25-50 cent cups of lemonade moot because they'll never make that money back to cover the expense of the permit first. Ridiculous, right?
It's because of this that the company that makes Country Time Lemonade just launched a new website called "Country Time LEGAL Ade." If parents or legal guardians of lemonade entrepreneurs have been fined in 2017 or 2018, or have had to get a permit, Country Time says it will cover the fine or permit fees up to $300. Just simply submit a complaint on their website.
Curious if something like this could happen in southeast Minnesota, I asked James Rabe and Luke Lonien to do me a favor and they asked Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson recently in an on-air interview on our sister station 1340 KROC-AM if children needed a permit to sell in Rochester and the surrounding area? He laughed and said "Don't mess with the lemonade stands, that's sort of our golden rule for the deputies." He went on to say, "We actually encourage the deputies to go out and buy a cup from the kids."
Now THAT, is awesome. So both kids and parents can now be rest assured you won't be getting into any legal trouble with local law enforcement over this. If anything, at least you'll know you make an extra couple bucks anytime you see an officer pass through your neighborhood!