Minocqua, WI – During today’s meeting of the Oneida County Planning & Development Committee, the committee voted to suspend the Minocqua Brewing Company’s Conditional Use Permit for their beer garden.
The meeting was marked by controversy as Kirk Bangstad, owner of Minocqua Brewing Company, was removed by police. After the committee spent 25 minutes detailing their allegations against Bangstad, he was briefly allowed to speak before the committee chair called a recess. When Bangstad tried to continue speaking after the recess, the board chair called the police to escort him out.
“Never in the last four years of fighting for my business has the Town or County allowed me to verbally defend their attacks against me in a public forum,” said Bangstad immediately after being removed from the meeting. “This just shows that they know what they are doing is wrong and can’t handle my shining a light on it.”
Bangstad’s prepared statement highlighted his view that the Town of Minocqua had been extorting him to drop federal lawsuits in exchange for necessary easements. He pointed out that despite the brewery’s substantial contributions to the local economy and its status as a significant progressive voice in Northern Wisconsin, Oneida County has persistently pursued actions against the business over the past three years due to its political stance.
The suspension of the Conditional Use Permit, which comes during the busiest part of the summer season, will severely impact the brewery’s operations, limiting its prime revenue-generating period.
“Neither the town nor county have ever worked with me during the offseason to try and fix any issues they have,” continued Bangstad. “We even brought a witness to court last Monday who was willing to testify under oath that they planned to shut me down when it hurt the most.”
Bangstad announced plans to appeal the decision and file a new suit in federal court. Previously, he had dropped a federal lawsuit against the County in October in order to obtain the Conditional Use Permit and another federal lawsuit against the Town of Minocqua in April to obtain an easement.
A rally was held earlier today by Bangstad and his supporters at 12:15 pm on the steps of the courthouse to oppose the committee’s actions.
For a history of the conflict and an explanation of Bangstad’s position, you can view Bangstad’s speech at today’s rally at: https://fb.watch/sQnkIYFfeO/.
The Minocqua Brewing Company has become a strong progressive voice in Northern Wisconsin, drawing thousands of tourists from across the country to our historic taproom in downtown Minocqua. They have also recently opened a new “home away from home” location on the west side of Madison. More information is available at: MinocquaBrewingCompany.com.
