Canna Connect Show
The Canna Connect Show introduces you to the people building Minnesota cannabis. Hosted by Canna Connect founder Stephen Eigenmann, each episode brings together growers, operators, entrepreneurs, advocates, professionals, and community members for real conversations about the work, challenges, ideas, and stories shaping Minnesota's emerging cannabis industry.
Canna Connect Show
Cannabis & Community Duluth Preview Episode | Season 2, Episode 16
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Open your window and come on in to the Canna Connect Show for a Cannabis & Community update!
We are hosting a cultivation celebration, brand showcase, and market update on October 15th at Clyde Iron Works.
Thank you to our sponsors:
- ANANG Native Cannabis Company
- Cannasure
- Comcast Business
- Green Goods
- Moxie Creative
- NECANN
- NorthStar Cultivation Supply
- Park State Bank
- SAX, LLP
- What Rebates
Listen for more information about the Official After Party hosted by ANANG and Thrive Agritech. We'll be giving away a Volcano by Storz & Bickel during the event.
Tickets on sale now:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cannabis-community-a-cultivation-celebration-tickets-1991495727330
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Every episode, Community Spotlight, and partner profile helps connect Minnesota's cannabis industry. Visit CannaConnectMN.com to explore interviews, resources, events, and the trusted organizations helping shape the future of cannabis in Minnesota.
Episode intro
SPEAKER_00Seriously, like one hit and you're to the moon. I kid you not. And then it wouldn't be a Can of Connect event if we didn't also host our own official after party.
SPEAKER_03They had this huge 10-pound bag of the Gorilla Glue 4 or GG4. And so Phil gave it to me to hold, and so I got to hold it like a baby.
SPEAKER_01It's about what's working right now, not who has the biggest marketing budget.
SPEAKER_03Trying them was super fun. Definitely slept really well that night.
SPEAKER_01This isn't just uh an event where you gotta buy a ticket, then you gotta buy a burrito, then you gotta buy a beer.
SPEAKER_03It's like the shiny North Star when it comes to Minnesota cannabis.
SPEAKER_01This is Spencer Plusell. I'm Steven Ogingman, and this is an update from the Canaconnect Show.
SPEAKER_00Open your window and come on in to Canna Connect and the cannabising community celebration, the cultivation celebration on October 15th in Duluth, Minnesota. Let's talk
What can attendees expect from Canna Connect in Duluth?
SPEAKER_00all about it and what attendees can expect from us, the Canaconnect team, as well as vendors and our major sponsors.
SPEAKER_01Well, it's an all-day event for sure. And the cats out the bag. We're hosting an industry luncheon on Thursday, October 15th at 11:30, goes till two o'clock. This is for vendors, sponsors, operators in the space, people that are keenly or acutely aware
Industry luncheon & market update announcement
SPEAKER_01of Minnesota cannabis and want to have a better understanding of what's going on. Tickets are on sale now for the industry luncheon. We are super excited to have a guest speaker who's really going to break down the numbers as far as how far along are we with licensing, as well as not just licenses, but also cultivation and how many licenses are out there but are not fully capped or not fully built out yet from a cultivation standpoint. So Bruce Henderson from Artemis Engineering and Procurement, we came across him through North Star Cultivation Supply, Brandon and Nolan Russell, big part of this event coming up. But also during the industry luncheon, we're going to hear from the Fonduac tribe and Anong dispensary. And so we'll hear from Chairman Savage as well as Tim Gordon. And there will be some nice cultural uh touches and parts of the programming that recognize Fonduck's uh place within the Duluth area, their heritage, their home, as well as get an update from the Anong Dispensary Group as far as their plans for Duluth as they work towards opening a store uh in 2027 in the Duluth downtown area. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's not only presentation, it's not only a plated lunch, uh, as well as panel discussions and QA conversations that all happen within about a two and a half, two, two and a half hour time slot before then we segue into our opening for our
Cannabis & Community update on the brand showcase & expo
SPEAKER_00brand showcase and expo. Yeah. Cannabis and community in Duluth.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, for everybody who's curious what's going on, it's a full restaurant buyout, it's a full expo. Think back to the Canada Connect one, two, three, and four of 2023 and 2024. We are bringing together cultivators, technology companies, lighting groups, experts, ancillary folks, local growers as well, will have Anong, Green Goods, Legacy, Trailheads.
SPEAKER_00We've been talking about talk to me about, yes, you're saying brand, brand, brand, brand, brand, brand. But it's not just brands. It's not just a trade show and expo, which again, as I always preface, love trade shows, love expos. That's the game. We're doing something that we're calling better together.
SPEAKER_01One of the reasons we've been so quiet, at least I've been quiet online, is there's a lot of planning that's going into this curated expo, meaning we're not just inviting banks and insurance agents to set up a table and to hand out candy. We've put a lot of thought into who needs to be in the room, and it's about what's working right now, not who has the biggest marketing budget. How can we showcase what's working? So Cova comes to mind as a point of sale company, and they're finding a lot of success in the Minnesota market. So we have Cova next to Legacy Duluth. Well, Legacy Duluth uses Cova software. So it's a great fit. They're better together. Thrive Agri Tech is another example. Thrive AgriTech, national lighting company, local roots with Jay Marshall in the Duluth area. Yeah. But they uh support and work with Cowboy Cannabis. So Cowboy Cannabis next to Thrive Agri Tech. And this better together concept, you'll find it throughout the expo. It'll lead to more fun conversations. You'll see people you recognize, as well as maybe people that you don't know, but somebody could make an introduction for you. So it's going to be easy to get to know what you need to know, what you're looking for. And it's cultivation heavy, but it's not just cultivation. And we also recommend if you're in the industry, if you work for a dispensary, if you're uh looking to get in the industry. Can of Connect events are great for bud tenders and growers and people that work in the cannabis space.
SPEAKER_00Plus, we're doing uh pizza the whole time over at the restaurant, and that's from 4 to 8 p.m. Yeah. And then
It wouldn't be a Canna Connect event if we weren't hosting the after party
SPEAKER_00it wouldn't be a Canna Connect event if we didn't also host our own official after party. Because we love to host official after parties to things like Canacon and Lucky Leaf and Nekan, etc. etc. But now here we are up in Duluth hosting our own cannabis and community. Cultivation celebration. The cultivation celebration is really that after party, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean it's a lot, a lot of it is for the vendors. It's gonna be a long day. You'll be there in the morning getting set up, you'll have lunch, you'll have a pre-party. Uh we may film some content with open window, the expo from four to eight. The after party is kind of the spillover. We've got this giant restaurant, Clyde Ironworks, get your tickets today. And we're gonna be giving away a volcano at the after party. From stores and bickle. From stores and bickle. The after party sponsored by Thrive AgriTech. It's gonna be great if you're in the business, if you're thinking about adding to your lighting, adding to your cultivation, a lot of experts in the room. We're talking Fluence, Athena, Pip, North Star. Plus, you've got guys like Trailhead, guys like Josh from Legacy, guys like Cowboy, people that are actually doing it, which is a great way to start when you're looking to get a good record.
SPEAKER_00Weed Maps is gonna be in the house with their sesh sprinter. I'm gonna have to get some pointers on how they built that out so I can finish building mine out. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And and Anong is really holding this down throughout this. You'll see some really cool stuff. Uh, tote bags for everybody who walks through the door. We'll have some custom branded merch. And the Anong Native Cannabis Group is a really cool group that's building within their means. And I think we'll see them continue to grow throughout 2027 as they add a store in Duluth and elsewhere around the state.
SPEAKER_00I'm
The evolution of Cannabis & Community
SPEAKER_00just excited to see the evolution that has come from when we started last year in 2025, September 17th, and having cannabis and community, a network, networking on the North Shore at Castle Danger, and that was, you know, just over a hundred people came together to just kind of hang out and see what was up and get to know each other on the North Shore and beyond Duluth area. It makes me excited because like you've seen your own evolution down here in the Twin Cities, right? You've seen what you've done at the Canna Connect ones and twos and threes and fours and evolving the industry and the after parties and Lucky Leaf and Earl Giles, etc. Right? You've seen that evolution. But to then now take it to like Brainerd and watching Luke McCabe's spearhead Brainerd and go from like essentially a Canna Club, right? Brainerd Lakes Canna Club every month. From where would we start? Jack Pine Brewing Company, to then going into Dunmeyer's on the lakes, to then hosting Canna Connect Brainerd and having the Suite 16 of brands that was curated in four brands per pod. Intentional curation of brands coming together with education and networking and learning and meeting other people that have done it and are doing it and are learning and making mistakes and figuring it out and having people listen. Now doing that activating in a two-year sequence from 25 to 26 and seeing that growth, it's just, I don't know, just to me, it's really, really exciting stuff. Not only for Canada Connect, but for the greater community at large that is Minnesota.
SPEAKER_01Right. We're trying to make this event as big as possible. If you're even kind of interested, we'd really encourage you to buy a ticket, reach out to a friend, take advantage of the low-cost deals that we've got going on right now. And
There's going to be food at the event
SPEAKER_01also know, like there's gonna be food. Like we're gonna take care of you. This isn't just uh an event where you got to buy a ticket, then you gotta buy a burrito, then you gotta buy a beer. Like we're gonna we're gonna take advantage or we're gonna take care of you as best as we can and take advantage of the marketing dollars that we've been able to raise through our sponsors to bring people together, connecting Minnesotans over cannabis. Take advantage of Canna Connect. Yeah, take advantage of us, man. Yeah, we're here. We got we got pizza for days.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, let's go one day, October 15th. October 15th, Clyde Ironworks, Duluth, Minnesota. Super excited. Hope that you pop up, make a trip of it, make a weekend.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but get your tickets now, get your hotel figured out, and make your trip up to Canna Connect, Duluth, October 15th. And stick around for our next segment,
Natalie on the Trail segment
SPEAKER_01Natalie on the Trail.
SPEAKER_03All right, welcome to our newest segment, Natalie on the Trail.
The genesis of Natalie on the Trail
SPEAKER_01And we are here talking with Natalie Campion of Canna Connect about her adventures on the trail brought to you by Trailhead Canvas Company.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah. Which started off just, you know, at evolving the industry, somehow bloomed into something beautiful with Trailhead, and now we have Natalie on the Trail. Um, so basically I just go around Minnesota uh to all different dispensaries that carry Trailhead, um, and then give them a spotlight, a chance to shine, essentially. Um, learning more about them and the community that they serve. Um, it's been a really fun adventure so far.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and for folks who don't know, Trailhead
Background of Trailhead Cannabis Company
SPEAKER_01Cannabis Company is a micro business in Brainerd. Yeah. Vertically integrated.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_01And a big part of their mission is to ensure that they're giving their flour out to local trusted partners. So we've gotten to know Tom and his team, including his son, his family, his sons, and uh from evolving the industry at the Minneapolis Club to Canna Connect Brainerd. Yes. And really having great hospitality behind the scenes, uh, grow tours.
SPEAKER_03Grow tours, completing bucket list items for me.
SPEAKER_01Like what have you done with what have you seen over there at Trailhead?
SPEAKER_03But the most fun was like after their harvest, they had this huge 10-pound bag of the gorilla glue for or GG4. And so Phil gave it to me to hold, and so I got to hold it like a baby.
SPEAKER_01Your whisky leaf a moment.
SPEAKER_03Yes, it was so cool. Like I was so excited about it. So, I mean, they just make a lot of my dreams come true, apparently.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so
Trailhead product overview
SPEAKER_01you've you've tried their flour. Oh what's what have you tried?
SPEAKER_03I think I've tried every strain that they have. My personal favorite has been gastronaut. Seriously, like one hit and you're to the moon. I kid you not. Um, it's really good stuff.
SPEAKER_01And your consumption journey over the summer has evolved from pipes, glass, volcanoes.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01Tell me more.
SPEAKER_03Tell me more. Yeah. I actually used to be very vape pen oriented. Um, kind of realized it wasn't the healthiest relationship with flowers, so I decided to bring it back old school. Yeah. And it's just it's just not healthy. It's so easy, you know, it's just like in your pocket. And so brought it back old school, brought out the dugout, the duggy or dugout, if you want to say. Steve was kind enough to give me a really cool, like badass tactical dugout.
SPEAKER_01Shout out to Yuki Io.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Oh, it is the coolest thing ever. My husband is extremely jealous. But yeah, so going back to flower, um, we also have the volcano, which is always a fun time.
SPEAKER_01Shout out to Stores and Bickel.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Stores and Bickle, keeping it, you know, healthy for my lungs. So thank you. Much appreciated. Um, but yeah, that's really brought me back to my flower journey and actually, you know, going more intentional with it and just learning more about the flower and the experience. And yeah, they have the GG's or the trilhead smalls is what they call it. And so it's essentially like the smaller buds, but essentially you get more bang for your buck. So definitely a really cool option. They also just came out with the dog or the little pre-rolls.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Base camp.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, the base camp. I want that so bad.
SPEAKER_01It's a five-pack.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's a little five-pack dog walker. It's like 0.5 is literally the perfect amount for a joint.
SPEAKER_01So you've where have
Natalie on the Trail - Deep Roots in Loretto, MN
SPEAKER_01you been out on the trail?
SPEAKER_03My first stop is Loreto, and that was super fun. I had actually found out I go there in the winter to go see the holiday train that comes through. Um, and they're right in Main Street. Like they are right there in the middle of Loreto and downtown.
SPEAKER_01This is deep roots.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, deep roots in there.
SPEAKER_01Husband and wife duo?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Brian and Sarah doing it all themselves. Their store is really beautiful. My favorite part. They actually went and found this antique chest and completely rehabbed it and put glass in it. And that is their display case, is this really cool antique chest. I love that. Uh, just really adds something to it. But you can tell in their whole dispensary, everything is so intentional. Even to their menu, it includes the complete price. So there's no guesses at checkout.
SPEAKER_01Digital menu.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, digital menu. But they really value education. So they also have this awesome binder of every strain, and it tells you all the terpenes, um, basically just anything you need to know about the plant rather than just the THC.
SPEAKER_01What did you pick up there when you were out?
SPEAKER_03Uh, I believe I left with the cherry lady slipper. I love my little jars of the flower just because also like the containers that he has, it's like really good quality. Like you can actually reuse them. So nice for the environment, too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he doesn't skimp on packaging, that's for sure. Right. Uh he's passed. His flower is passing testing on the first time. He's working closely with Nolan Russell, yeah, as well as some other great folks in the cannabis industry that are a part of the Trailhead team. Uh, you can meet them at Canna Connect Duluth on October 15th. Yeah. You may have had a chance to meet them this summer at Canna Connect Brainerd. Big group of Trailheadians were out there. And uh yeah, let's switch it up here and
Natalie on the Trail - The Grey Area in Saint Paul, MN
SPEAKER_01talk about the gray area. Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_03Where was the gray area when we were in college?
SPEAKER_01Uh underground.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, probably underground. You know, not as shady, but so the gray area. It's right on Grand Ave. Like the perfect location if you're gonna be in St. Paul, especially if you're like by the schools and everything.
SPEAKER_01It's pretty much Hamlin and Grand.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Next to the Sinclair gas station with the dinosaurs.
SPEAKER_03Yes, the green dinosaur. They put it like underneath now. They've hidden the dinosaur a little, so you have to kind of look for it, but it's there.
SPEAKER_01But before we go into the gray area, like let's talk a little bit about Bill
Getting to know Bill Drexler of The Grey Area
SPEAKER_01Drexler. We did a community spotlight on him.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, we learned all about Bill beforehand. So it was actually really fun walking back into the gray area and actually seeing it in person and meeting him in person because it's like I I learned his entire story right beforehand. Um this summer. This summer, yeah.
SPEAKER_01It was one of our best performing spotlights. I think it was our best performing. So shout out to Bill and Jason. Those two guys are holding it down at the gray area. Yeah, you can still get hemp products, but since I've been in there, they've added a lot more cannabis THC adult use products.
SPEAKER_03They have, and they have some really fun glass options too that you should check out and storage.
SPEAKER_01And they're starting to grow. Yes. So you'll be able to get the gray area farms inside gray area cannabis shop. What did you talk about with Bill?
SPEAKER_03We just he is so passionate about the St. Paul community. Um, he has been, he's grew up there, right? And so it was really fun. Anytime somebody walked into that dispensary, it was like, oh, hey, Bob. And they're like, oh yeah, I went to school with him. Or it's like, oh, that's my mom's best friend's son, or something like that. They had some sort of connection to every person that walked in, which was just really fun to see of how much they're already known in the community and what they're doing. Right. Um, of course, you know, like many of dispensaries across Minnesota, um, it's, you know, one to two people running the dispensary right now. And so it's kind of an all hands-on-deck situation. And so hopefully, you know, Bill's help is, you know, as he gets his own flour into his stores, he can start to, you know, expand a little more and hire more and control the supply of of good quality product. Exactly, which is hard to do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And I mean, speaking of that,
Natalie shares her experience as a Legacy Cup judge in 2026
SPEAKER_01like you're a legacy cup judge this year. Yeah. Big part of the issue has been for dispensaries not enough supply, not enough product. What categories are you judging this year?
SPEAKER_03Well, I had vapes and then high potency edibles. Um, I was surprised at how many vapes I was actually able to test.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Being that there's the shortest supply of them in the right.
SPEAKER_01So we have a vape shortage, so it's a little bit odd opening up a box and seeing like nine different vapes, and you're like, oh, I I'd never have even seen this one.
SPEAKER_03Like didn't even know that existed. Um, trying them was super fun. Um, definitely slept really well that night. Yes. Um so many clouds. Uh but it was a really fun experience because the Ganja Guild actually took charge of it this year. And so judging is actually more complete on looking, you know, at the presentation, the appearance, the aroma, flavor, um, you know, the actual functionality of the card itself, you know, and the pen. And being able to just really have a full look at the product is really cool. And being able to offer that feedback to the people.
SPEAKER_01What kind of education was baked into the judging kit that the Gangji He Guild added?
SPEAKER_03So what they did, um, even before we picked up the kit, we had a judging like webinar session. So they actually walked through all of the different um categories for you know that that would be judged, um, and then went through what they would be looking for for each category. They really took it up a notch.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, kudos to Elizabeth Sage. And who else did you see involved uh from the Gangier Guild?
SPEAKER_03Gangier Guild. Oh, good old Canon Connect's Luke Mate.
SPEAKER_01Liz McCaves.
SPEAKER_03He's also judging vapes and high-dose edibles. So that was really fun. That hey, two Canon Connect team members got to be judges.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's amazing. We'll be, you know, really excited to see more businesses take advantage of the micro cultivation and the ability to grow and sell and do your own manufacturing within your st within your business. Uh, because Trailhead is a shining example of a micro cultivation, a micro business.
SPEAKER_03It is, it is. It's like the shining North Star when it comes to Minnesota
Plug for Canna Connect Duluth event
SPEAKER_03cannabis.
SPEAKER_01And if you want to understand how you could potentially do a 5,000 square foot cultivation facility, you can come out to Canna Connect Duluth, you can meet a group of brands that are really putting this together, leading with North Star Cultivation Supply, and then Athena, Rhythm, Fluence, Hip, Twin Cities Mechanical, and this wizard from Artemis EP named Bruce Henderson.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01Uh, along with What Rebate, CEE, TSR Grow, Thrive AgriTech, there's gonna be a ton of cultivation conversations.
SPEAKER_03So many cultivation conversations at our cultivation celebration.
SPEAKER_01And I was thinking, I was watching the interview today with Brad Obermüller from CE.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I was sitting in this chair almost a year ago, and I was saying, I'm not comfortable having cultivation conversations, or we're not comfortable educating people on cultivation because it's not our forte. We don't have a strong background in it. But now having worked for a year and met new people and continued to record and find ways to bring the education together, yeah, we're now at a place where we can have a cultivation conversation with leading brands like Fluence and Athena and Rhythm and Pip Horticulture. And it's really cool. Yeah, so I mean, you know, from the tribal to the medical to the micro to the cultivation focused, it's there's lots of reasons to come out to Duluth. Dispensaries are one of them, cultivation experience is another, plus other ancillarian technology brands like Comcast Business, insurance groups like Canister, uh banks like Park State. It's gonna be a really solid get together.
SPEAKER_02I'm so excited. I'm really counting down today.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, let's come back um later this year and figure out where else you've been and talk about it. Shout out to Deep Roots in Loreto.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and the gray area in St. Paul. So thank you for watching, and we'll be back.
SPEAKER_01That's right. Subscribe to the Canon Connect Show for more Natalie on the Trail segment and new videos every week.
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