St. Cloud, Minn. Raises Purchase Age, Mayor Vetoes

On Monday night, the St. Cloud City Council voted 4-3 to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21-years-old, but the increase is set for a showdown with the mayor, who vetoed it on Tuesday morning.

Mayor Dave Kleis came out early in opposition of the increase, calling it an issue of commerce that should be decided at the state level, not by individual cities. “This is not preventing anyone between the ages of 18 and 21 from smoking,” Kleis said, according to a report from Minnesota Public Radio. “That can only be done by the state. This is preventing somebody from purchasing a legal product that the state has determined is a legal product.”

On Tuesday morning, the mayor officially vetoed the increase, according to KNSIRadio.com.

The increase now heads back to the council, where it would take five of the seven members giving their support in order to override the veto.

Currently, two cities in Minnesota have passed age increases for tobacco, Edina and St. Louis Park, both of which are in the greater Minneapolis area. St. Cloud would be the first outside of that area to approve an increase, as it is located approximately 66 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

St. Cloud is home to nearly 68,000 residents, making it the 10th largest city in Minnesota.

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, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, 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.