Mayor’s Minutes: Osseo’s Duane Poppe
Osseo Mayor Duane Poppe joins CCX Media’s Dave Kiser to discuss cannabis moratoriums, school resource officers, the city’s budget, and more opportunities for residents, in this month’s Mayor’s Minutes.
Osseo Mayor Duane Poppe during a recent taping of Mayor’s Minutes at CCX Media in October 2023.
Since the state of Minnesota legalized recreational cannabis use earlier this year, many cities including Osseo have put in place moratoriums on the sale and licensing for businesses to sell higher-potency cannabis products.
“(The city did so) just to understand, let the Office of Cannabis (Management) get established at the state level to put guidelines around it, to be able to understand what it is and be able to enforce it and understand what the rules are,” Poppe told Kiser.
He said the city has now allowed the sale of lower-potency THC products, which the state legislature surprisingly voted to allow in the Summer of 2022, catching many cities off-guard.
Earlier this year, the state legislature also enacted new guidelines for school resource officers as part of a larger education bill. It’s meant many jurisdictions and school districts have have to re-examine agreements on supplying officers as school resource officers based on state guidelines pertaining to what kind of restraints and holds those officers can use when attempting to respond or de-escalate potentially violent situations involving students.
Osseo Schools in the city of Osseo use Maple Grove police officers as school resource officers, but Poppe said they, like officers in many other cities, have been re-assigned to patrol near the school and coordinate extra patrols in the schools as necessary, allowing those officers to then use restraints and trained responses as necessary.
“We’re trying to staff up to protect (Osseo Senior) high school and the middle school,” said Poppe.
The city continues work on its budget, and Poppe warned that higher tax levies may be in order to help pay for rising city costs.
He also acknowledged an on-going agreement with the city of Maple Grove about letting Osseo residents use the Maple Grove Community Center amenities at rates that Maple Grove residents pay.
“We just can’t build a facility like that and be able to use a facility like that at a great price,” said Poppe.
For more information on upcoming events and meetings in Osseo, check out the city’s website here.
