Are these really laws in MInnesota?

After moving to Minnesota, a few friends reached out about “Laws” (term used loosely) for me to be aware of. You see, a lot of my friends work or have worked in radio, and most radio personalities have done segments on the air about “Dumb Laws” that are supposedly on the books in states around the country. Most of these are very outlandish and hard to understand. Over the weekend, I spent some time looking into some of the laws and found an interesting site that gave some actual context; MinnesotaFunFacts.com.

Get our free mobile app

I thought I’d share a few crazy laws that are said to be on the books, that aren’t.

“Mosquitoes are a Public Nuisance”. The law reads that the land where Mosquitoes incubate, or hatch can be declared a public nuisance, not the Mosquitoes themselves. If we could sue the actual Mosquitoes, I'd be in court constantly during the summer.

“All Bathtubs Must Have Feet”- No law was located on the books in Minnesota stating this, which is a good thing or there would be a lot of people breaking the law right now.

“You Can’t Park Your Elephant on the Street”- According to MinnesotaFunFacts.com, no law was found on the books like this. I can't imagine what you would even tie your elephant to?

There’s a rumored “law” in Minneapolis that “Red Cars can’t drive on Lake Street”, but no law is actually on the books, but I’d like to hear the story how this one came to be.

Here’s some laws that are on the books, at least in part.

“Nursing Homes can only host Bingo twice a week”. Back in the 1980’s when charitable gaming came to Minnesota this was in fact a law but was reversed in 2015.

“You can’t stand in the road looking for a business or a ride”. There is a statute in Minnesota, Statute 169.22, that says you can’t stand in the road for the purpose of catching a ride with a private vehicle.

“All Men Must Wear A Shirt When Riding A Motorcycle”- The law actually reads that a man taking a motorcycle driving test, must wear safety clothing including a jacket or long-sleeved shirt.

Maybe now you know at least more of the truth, and maybe you had some fun learning what’s a law, and what’s not.