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After contested hearing, Hastings council affirms denial of Speedway's tobacco license
Summary
Following testimony from city staff, law enforcement and Speedway representatives, the Hastings City Council affirmed its earlier decision to deny the tobacco-license renewal for Speedway West (store 44861390), citing multiple compliance-check failures over a three-year span; Speedway argued it implemented POS locks and third-party checks and urged a lesser penalty.
The Hastings City Council on June 15 affirmed the denial of a tobacco-license renewal for Speedway's West Frontage Road store after a lengthy hearing that reviewed multiple compliance-check failures, company corrective actions and council deliberation about public-safety and enforcement options.
City Attorney Cynthia Kirchhoff and staff summarized a record of compliance-check failures dating to a 2022 FDA check and including local checks in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Kirchhoff told the council the city code and Minnesota statutes give the council discretion to deny renewals when there is a history of compliance failures and that Speedway had previously paid administrative penalties and accepted suspensions. "Chapter 4 61 of the Minnesota statutes requires the city conduct a tobacco license compliance check at least annually," Kirchhoff said while outlining staff's recommendation to affirm denial.
Speedway's attorney, Jim Yarosz, and company witnesses pushed back, saying the retailer had implemented a series of operational changes and third-party testing after the most recent violations. Region manager Sean Bognavitz said the company installed a point-of-sale lockdown so tobacco sales cannot be completed unless an ID is scanned and that the company pays a third-party contractor to run additional compliance checks; he described the October 2025 failure as a "rogue" event in which an employee used a left-behind ID to complete a sale. "I take it personally responsible when we don't meet expectations," Bognavitz said, and he described terminations and retraining tied to the incidents. Store manager Robin Meyer said the employee who violated policy was terminated immediately; "To move forward, that employee was terminated immediately," she said, and she described new store practices (locking left-behind IDs in the office and retraining staff).
Council members expressed concern about repeated failures and the proximity of the store to a school. Multiple members said they appreciated the company's newer management and training steps but remained troubled by the pattern of violations and the public-safety implications of selling tobacco to underage buyers. Legal staff explained the council could reverse the denial by resolution but that the usual practice was to adopt a superseding resolution at a subsequent meeting if council chose that route; because the current license would expire June 30, staff said any reversal should be done by resolution at the next meeting to avoid an unintended gap.
The council voted to affirm the denial of the 2026-2027 tobacco-license renewal for Speedway store 44861390. The resolution to affirm the denial passed by roll call. Staff noted the ordinance also provides for revocation processes and that the council retains authority to revisit licensing if new violations occur. The council will return to open session briefly to adjourn after a closed meeting on city-hall renovation matters.
