From the state of Minnesota…where nothing is legal! I’m sure that some of you have heard this already.


DULUTH Minnesota -- An abandoned art deco movie theater is set to see new life later this summer as an upscale gentleman's club, according to Jim Gradishar.

Set for renovation and restoration is the NorShor theater in downtown Duluth.
Gradishar says the art deco building is perfect for his plans, with its glass entry doors and sweeping staircase showcasing a carved wooden mural representing the area's history.
"The entryway here is going to be like a nostalgic area somewhat, with some antiques, like the big projector," Gradishar says. "We're going to have a player piano. This place is like a museum, and I want to keep the feeling, the old feeling, the retro feeling of this building."
Gradishar's plans are being met by stiff opposition by some, who feel the building should have some other use. What that use is, and who would pay for it, remains a mystery.
"It's an amazing building, and it's a shame to see it empty. And a lot of people say it's a shame to do what I'm going to do here," Gradishar says. "But it's a sad waste, and I think we can make money, and we can keep the doors open and pay the rent, and Eric'll be able to keep the building."
"Eric" is Eric Ringsred, an emergency room doctor who owns the NorShor and several other old buildings in downtown Duluth.
The NorShor is the crumbling crown jewel in a shabby part of downtown that local boosters have been saying is on the verge of a renaissance -- for years.
Ringsred has leased the building to various managers who have run bars, concert series, local music acts, fundraisers -- everything they could think of -- but they've all been forced to give up.
"To some extent I think I'm just going with what I see as the future of area, which is not a historic district at all anymore. It's a district full of hotels, perhaps some tourists, a gambling casino and what-not," Ringsred says.
The casino, in the old Sears building, is owned by the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa. One new downtown hotel is under construction, and another could be built on the site of a building Ringsred tried to save.
Duluth has no ordinances regulating strip clubs. A new state law restricting such clubs would outlaw a downtown location. But a legal challenge is expected, and could even involve Ringsred and Gradishar. Neither is a stranger to legal battles.


ST PAUL Minnesota -- The Minnesota legislature is set to pass state-wide regulations for strip club operations that will establish a buffer zone around strip clubs under a compromise bill that bans them within a half-mile of a church or a school. The law permits local governments to affirmatively permit clubs within those buffer zones.

The bill is designed to protect small local governments from the expense of individually drafting ordinances to prohibit sex-oriented entertainment establishments.
"It can cost thousands of dollars for these little cities and towns," said Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano.
Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, said local governments have found themselves surprised when such an establishment comes to town.
"We've had it happen where somebody comes in, says they're going to set up a little manufacturing plant or tobacco shop, and when they open the doors, it's a strip club," he said.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Steve Dille, R-Dassel, after a strip club opened in Eden Valley, population 800, in January. Officials have been trying to force the club out of business, including passing an ordinance banning nude dancing.



There is some news that will put a smile on your face, if you make it over there.

LAKE GENEVA Wisconsin -- Scores, the high-end strip club made famous by satellite radio shock jock Howard Stern, is opening a club near Lake Geneva.

Scores Lake Geneva will open on the first floor of the Sugar Shack Club on County H, four miles north of Lake Geneva. The club will feature female dancers and strippers. The original Sugar Shack and its male dancers still will occupy the second floor, said owner Dana Montana.
Originally a New York club, the publicly traded company now owns two clubs in New York City and licenses clubs in Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Baltimore.
The trademark name is owned by Scores Holding Company.
Scores' grand opening to the public will feature Ronnie the Limo Driver from the Howard Stern Show on June 9. Gary Dell'Abate, popular Stern sidekick and producer, will host the evening June 10.
Scores Lake Geneva also will offer two private preview parties before the grand opening: a private VIP party June 7 and an invitation-only media party June 8.
Scores Lake Geneva bars will be open from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily. Guests can sample a wide selection of vintage and nonvintage champagnes, fine wines, cocktails and imported, domestic and micro-brewed beer.
The club holds 250 guests, has two private presidential rooms, a champagne area with lounge seating and two large-screen televisions. The club caters to private parties of all sizes.
During the 1960s, Montana worked as a Bunny at the Chicago Playboy Club. Montana said she was fired at 23 for being too old.
Montana bought a decrepit building four miles north of Lake Geneva on County H that once housed The Club J-MAR. She renovated the building and opened the Sugar Shack as a dance and music club about 37 years ago. The club is named after a song by Jimmy Gilmore and the Fireballs.
In the early 1970s, Montana came up with the idea of male strippers to attract women customers. Her idea landed her on talk television shows, and the men-stripping-for-women idea caught fire.
A few years later, she added female strippers and opened the Sugar Shack Gentlemen's Club on the premises.
Montana said she and a partner now co-own the Scores in Chicago, which once was the Sugar Shack 2. She said the Sugar Shack still is known for male strippers, and she wants to draw more male customers with the notoriety of the Scores name.
Montana believes the image of strip clubs is changing. Now, the Sugar Shack receives busloads of couples, the groups separating for the female strippers downstairs and male strippers upstairs. Future brides and grooms have held their bachelor and bachelorette parties at the Sugar Shack, Montana said.
Michael Cotter, Walworth County assistant corporation counsel, said the Sugar Shack and two other adult entertainment clubs in Lake Geneva are grandfathered into the county's zoning codes as "legal, nonconforming uses."
Opening a Scores on the premises is legal because it doesn't change the property's basic use, Cotter said.
However, the Sugar Shack-and the two other clubs-can't expand their buildings and can't be rebuilt if they burn down.
In 2000, the county adopted a zoning ordinance that permits adult entertainment establishments but limits where they can locate.
In general, new strip clubs can locate in areas zoned B-2 general business, B-3 waterfront business or B-4 highway business, Cotter said. However, the establishments must sit 750 feet from certain other uses, such as residential areas, churches, schools, parks and day-care centers. Such clubs also must be in enclosed buildings.



-- Modified on 6/2/2006 1:05:06 PM