Good morning. The jokes sometimes write themselves.

It’s far from a shop on every corner, but we can expect to find hundreds of marijuana dispensaries in a year or so. At least 381 of them. This is the number of retailers the Office of Cannabis Management estimates is the minimum it would have to license under requirements in state law. MPR’s Dana Ferguson reports that the law requires local governments to make available at least one retail license for every 12,500 people. Estimating the actual demand for dispensaries is difficult because marijuana has been considered an illegal substance for so long and the lack of a regulated market for full-fledged marijuana complicates things. This is the first time the office has provided an estimate of how many dispensaries could receive state licensing. Broad retail sales are expected to start in early 2025.

Another run at sports betting legislation is expected when the Minnesota Legislature returns. MPR’s Clay Masters spoke to Republican Sen. Jeremy Miller of Winona, who says he plans to rework a bill that failed last year to advance legalizing sports betting in the state. Miller said stakeholders were hesitant to make agreements last year. “Perhaps they’re holding out for a better deal or a different deal and I think the reality is folks are going to have to compromise,” Miller said. He’s changed his prior bill to include more licensing opportunities for the state’s tribal nations, which could offer retail and mobile sports betting. License holders could enter into partnerships with horse tracks or professional sports teams. As well as a tax rate of 15 percent with proceeds partially going to support local charities. Thirty-eight states have legalized sports gambling since 2018 when the Supreme Court struck down a federal law barring it.

The new Prescription Drug Affordability Board is gearing up to get to work. Established last year by state leaders frustrated with long (and slow) debates in Congress about prescription drug affordability, the board will attempt to bring down prescription drug prices in the state. Mark Zdechlik reports that while there are similar efforts in other states, Minnesota’s board is authorized to determine if drug manufactures are overcharging and reduce prices accordingly for any prescription drug. The legislation that created the board also authorized the state to cap prices for generic drugs, but an industry trade group known as the Association for Accessible Medicines is litigating that piece. There is some expectation that industry groups may challenge the new board’s authority in court as well.

ABC News and CNN have canceled planned Republican primary debates before the next big contest. ABC said it did not have enough candidates who would be participating. Only Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had agreed to join the debate, but Christie dropped out of the race last week. DeSantis posted on X that Haley was “afraid to debate.” Nikki Haley and Donald Trump did not confirm their participation by the deadline that ABC News set in place. Haley said on social media she wants to face off with either Trump or President Biden in her next debate. 

U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips has dropped a reference to DEI from his presidential campaign website. The move came not long after Bill Ackman, his new $1 million super PAC donor and a leading DEI opponent, called it a mistake. Phillips’ campaign removed the nod to “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” from his website and replaced it with “Equity and Restorative Justice.” The language under the header did not change. But the decision to drop the DEI reference is notable for its timing. Ackman took part in a conversation on X with Phillips and had addressed Phillips’ support for DEI Sunday afternoon, predicting that the candidate would change the reference, “once he understands what it is.” Per a Politico article on the drama, the Phillips’ campaign said they did not make the change in response to Ackman’s comments.

Ahead of next week’s New Hampshire primary that the national Democratic Party isn’t recognizing, Phillips is pressing hard on President Joe Biden’s age as a campaign message point. Phillips, who is 27 years younger than Biden, noted at a coffee shop in Nashua: “When you’re 81 years old, I don’t know how you can have the capacity to start really getting your hands around something so significant as artificial intelligence, let alone Web 3.0 and crypto and blockchain.” It’s one part of this Vox.com story on Phillips that dissects his run and the perils it presents to the challenger and the incumbent.

The U.S. Supreme Court is getting plenty of input as it nears a hearing on Donald Trump’s current ballot exclusion in Colorado. One friend-of-the-court brief draws parallels between Trump’s lack of access to Colorado’s ballot and that of a Republican who sued unsuccessfully to get on Minnesota’s presidential primary ballot. Ryan Binkley, who finished a distant fifth-place in Iowa’s caucus, was denied a spot on Minnesota’s ballot. In a ruling last week, the state Supreme Court rejected a petition to have his name added. Minnesota attorney Erick Kaardal writes in the U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief that Binkley intends to ask justices there to step into Binkley’s case, too. On behalf of Binkley, the lawyer draws common cause with Trump:  “His exclusion from Minnesota’s Republican primary ballot is similar to Trump’s exclusion from Colorado’s presidential ballot – just for different reasons,” Kaardal said. 

A state task force weighing the future of the Metropolitan Council — the board that guides the growth of the Twin Cities metro area — could have a tough time deciding how to restructure the appointed board. Peter Callaghan with MinnPost reports that there’ve been awkward exchanges during early meetings as members have split about the best path for the Met Council. And private communications obtained by MinnPost through a Data Practices Act request could help bolster critics’ argument that “the appointed nature of the governing body and the frequent turnover of council members creates a power vacuum that is filled by the regional agency’s staff.”