After more than an hour of testimony and discussion, the Hastings City Council voted 5-1 Monday night to uphold its earlier decision denying the renewal of a tobacco sales license for Speedway West, located at 1390 S. Frontage Road.
Council member Lisa Leifeld cast the lone vote against affirming the denial, while the remaining council members supported the action, citing the store’s lengthy history of selling tobacco products to underage purchasers during compliance checks.
The hearing was held after Northern Tier Retail LLC, which operates Speedway West, exercised its right to appeal the council’s June 1 decision denying the store’s 2026-27 tobacco license application.
City Attorney Cynthia Kirchoff outlined the city’s authority to deny the license, noting that tobacco licenses are considered a privilege rather than an entitlement and are subject to annual renewal and compliance reviews.
“Speedway has a history of compliance check failures,” Kirchoff told the council.
According to city records, Speedway failed tobacco compliance checks conducted by the Hastings Police Department in 2016, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The city also became aware of a failed U.S. Food and Drug Administration compliance check in 2022. The violations involved sales of tobacco products to individuals under the legal age of 21.
The city’s staff report noted that Speedway failed compliance checks in four consecutive years from 2022 through 2025 and had its tobacco license suspended for seven days following violations in both 2024 and 2025.
Representing Speedway, Minneapolis attorney Jim Yarosh argued that the company has made significant efforts to improve compliance and prevent future violations.
Yarosh presented evidence showing the company had implemented stricter controls after a 2024 violation, including modifying point-of-sale systems to require an ID scan before tobacco sales can be completed. He also submitted records from a third-party compliance company showing 12 successful tobacco and alcohol compliance checks since July 2024.
“We understand that, at first blush, this doesn’t seem like a great track record,” Yarosh told council members. “But it’s not because of indifference or lack of effort.”
Speedway’s regional manager, overseeing approximately 150 stores in Minnesota, described the repeated violations as “embarrassing” and said the company takes them seriously.
“We have a responsibility to the city, to its constituents and to the people that work for me in our stores,” he said. “I take it personally responsible when somebody on my team fails and doesn’t meet expectations.”
He said employees involved in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 violations were terminated. He noted that after the 2024 violation, Speedway “fully locked down” its point-of-sale system so tobacco transactions could not be completed without scanning an identification card.
The store manager told the council the 2025 violation involved an employee who used a different identification card to override the system after the underage purchaser’s ID was rejected.
“The sale should have never went through,” she said. “That employee was trained and knew to do better.”
She said the employee was terminated immediately and new procedures were implemented requiring abandoned identification cards to be secured in the manager’s office.
Several council members acknowledged Speedway’s recent efforts while wrestling with the store’s compliance history.
Council member DawnMarie Vihrachoff said she was encouraged by management’s willingness to make changes after each violation and by the third-party compliance checks.
“I am greatly encouraged and greatly thankful to your management team for implementing something each time that this happened,” Vihrachoff said.
Leifeld expressed sympathy for the store’s current management team and employees, noting that the most recent manager had not overseen many of the earlier violations.
“I’m sitting here in a real tough spot,” Leifeld said.
Leifeld also pointed to the store’s importance on the west side of Hastings and the impact a license denial could have on employees.
The council heard testimony that all eight employees at the store are Hastings residents and rely on the location for employment.
Still, other council members emphasized the seriousness of repeated violations involving underage tobacco sales.
Under Minnesota law, tobacco license holders face escalating penalties for compliance failures, including fines and license suspensions, with revocation available after repeated offenses. City officials argued Speedway’s record established a pattern of violations that justified denying the license renewal.
Following discussion, the council voted 5-1 to approve a resolution affirming the denial of the 2026-27 tobacco license, Dave Pemble making the motion and Tim Lawrence offering the second.
The resolution cites Speedway’s repeated compliance failures, concluding that the company had established “a pattern” of violating city regulations prohibiting tobacco sales to people under age 21 and had not adequately demonstrated a system capable of preventing future violations.
Because the denial was affirmed, Speedway West will not be licensed to sell tobacco products after its current license expires June 30.
City officials noted during the hearing that the denial applies only to the upcoming licensing year and does not prevent Speedway from applying for a tobacco license again in the future.