At its Aug. 26 meeting, the Forest Lake City Council adopted an ordinance that will make the minimum age to purchase tobacco products 21-years-old as of Sept. 5.

In addition, the ordinance prohibits people under 21-years-old from selling tobacco as part of their job with a licensed tobacco retailer. While the ordinance had contained a provision that would have made possession of tobacco illegal by persons under 21, it was removed prior to the final vote, which passed 4-0, with the city’s mayor absent from the meeting.

The new law also prohibits the issuance of a new tobacco retailer license to any applicant locate within 500 feet of a school or public park, and establishes additional new rules for tobacco retailer license holders.

Forest Lake is home to just over 20,000 residents and is located approximate 30 miles northeast of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.