By Lori Carlson, Editor 

A Scott County District Court judge has dismissed Dakota Liquors’ case against the city of Prior Lake and MGM Wine and Spirits.

Judge William Macklin dismissed the case this week after considering arguments made by Dakota Liquors about the city’s approval of an off-sale liquor license for MGM. The City Council approved the license in August, but Dakota Liquors owner Kevin Bresnahan filed a motion in court last month, claiming the city violated state statute and its own ordinance.

Bresnahan argued that Kids Count, a daycare across from the planned MGM location, should be considered a school under city ordinance, which prohibits liquor-related businesses from operating within 300 feet of a school or a church. Kids Count owner Heather McCaustlin told council members this summer that she’s concerned about additional traffic caused by delivery trucks. The daycare serves about 96 children per day.

A city attorney countered that the district court has no jurisdiction and that the motion filed by Dakota Liquors was not sufficient to start civil action, since no summons or complaint had been filed.

Macklin agreed, saying the case should instead be heard in the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

In their discussion in August, council members were divided on whether to consider the daycare a school. Councilmen Ken Hedberg and Steve Millar said the city should take a closer look at its liquor ordinance, which Millar called “tangled.”

Earlier this summer, the City Council denied Bresnahan’s request to enact distance regulations for liquor stores. Bresnahan, who has owned Dakota Liquors for more than 20 years, faces competition from MGM, which is moving into the strip mall at 14173 Commerce Ave.

Attorneys for Dakota Liquors and the city said this week that they couldn’t comment because they had not yet received the judge’s ruling in the mail.

Lori Carlson can be reached at (952) 345-6378 or editor@plamerican.com.