Judge weighs what to do with Daley case (1/13/2021)
After a years-long regulatory and legal saga, a judge is set to rule in the coming weeks on the Daley Farm’s bid to expand its Lewiston dairy and get an exception to Winona County’s limit on farm size. Olmsted County District Court Judge Kevin Mark ruled last month that members of the Winona County Board of Adjustment (BOA) — who actively opposed the farm expansion just before they supposed to serve as impartial judges of it — were biased, violating the farm’s due process right to a fair hearing. Now the question is, what should the court do to correct the situation? The attorney for the Daley Farm, Matt Berger, argued this week the judge should order the county to approve the farm expansion, while the county’s attorney, Paul Reuvers, wrote that the court should send the issue back to the BOA for fresh decision.