The City of Anoka's social district is now a year-round event allowing people to bring open alcohol to certain streets, sights, and establishments.
Anoka Mayor Erik Skogquist tells Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Radio Morning News that they've slowly been expanding the program's footprint since it debuted in 2023, the first social district in the state.
"Most of which were non-bar restaurants, asked for its expansion to allow people to sip and stroll and to shop and check out the whole downtown," says Skogquist. "And now this year after another successful year with really no issues with on the public safety side of things, we've decided to expand it all year long."
The Anoka Social District runs from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. seven days a week - with an exception. It will not run during the city's famous Halloween parades which draw significant crowds.
Those Halloween parades are the Light up the Night Parade (Oct. 18), Big Parade of Little People (Oct. 24), and the Grande Day Parade (Oct. 25).
A "Social District" is a specific area which allows people to purchase and drink beer, wine, or a cocktail from a licensed business and walk through a defined area of the city including public spaces such as a sidewalk or street to allows for participation in a district event/activity.
Skogquist says more businesses were asking the city to expand the program and doing so just made sense.
"So it's worked out really well, and a lot of this is just educating people to how this works," the mayor explains. "Because some people have had experiences with something similar, maybe in another state, but some of the larger ones like Las Vegas always comes up. It's different rules and different things, so we have to kind of educate them how it works in Anoka and how it works in Minnesota in general."
Anoka launched the pilot program in 2023 with a 30-day trial, followed by a successful five-month program in 2024.
Shakopee, Minnesota was added as the second social district in the state this past year. They operate with the same hours, but the Shakopee social district will end Oct. 31 with another short window open in December for a holiday weekend. There are two districts in Shakopee, one near downtown and another near Canterbury Park.
Stillwater, Minnesota also received Legislative approval to add a social district but that city's city council and mayor are still weighing whether or not to proceed. They are also looking for public feedback on the initiative.
You can see a full list of businesses participating in Anoka, and a full list of events here.
