Bob Collins
Next Tuesday’s City Council meeting in Pelican Rapids, Minn., is going to be a tense one now that the city is reportedly split on the issue of chicks.
It started Monday morning when the city’s police chief, acting under orders from the mayor, shut down the sale of chicks at Strand Hardware, according to owner Matt Strand’s Facebook post.
Sad news chick fans! On Monday morning, Pelican Rapids Mayor Brent Frazier personally sent the Pelican Rapids Police to Strand Hardware to instruct me to cease sales of baby chicks.
That’s right, the mayor called the cops on us for selling baby chicks. To comply with this directive, Strand Hardware is temporarily halting in store chick sales.
Chicks, ducklings, goslings and pheasants are still available at the store via special order but if you want to see them in person you will need to travel to a business friendly community such as Detroit Lakes, Perham, Fergus Falls or Moorhead (to name a few) where chick sales are allowed.
Liz and I will be attending the next Pelican Rapids City Council meeting on Tuesday April 10th at 5:00pm to fight Mayor Frazier and his anti baby chick agenda. We hope to see you all there.
According to the city ordinance, chicks can’t be kept out in the open in stores.
“We’re talking baby chicks, not Charolais bulls running around downtown. We’re not allowed to have chickens in town, but the mayor’s too chicken to tell me himself so he sends the police,” Strand tells WDAY, which suggests the issue is tearing at the very fabric of civic life in town.
“It is a violation of code unless the chicks are in transit,” Mayor Brent Frazier said.
