1.1A Senate resolution
1.2honoring the retirements of Dave and Mary North of Newport, Minnesota.
1.3WHEREAS, local businesses throughout Minnesota sustain the state's small-town economies
1.4and form and shape the identities of these towns and cities; and
1.5WHEREAS, Dave and Mary North of Newport Drug and North Pole have been working at
1.6the business for a combined 83 years, but are retiring and handing the reins to their children to
1.7continue the family-owned and family-run business; and
1.8WHEREAS, Newport Drug and North Pole, a rare pharmacy and restaurant combination,
1.9will see a fourth generation of family workers and a third generation of family owners after the
1.10Norths retire; and
1.11WHEREAS, Newport Drug and North Pole was purchased in 1947 by Dave's father and
1.12was moved, in 1952, to the now named Newport Center, where Dave spent his childhood helping
1.13the family business; and
1.14WHEREAS, Dave met Mary, who was working at the restaurant as a server during college,
1.15and after they married they became a true team, as she worked on one side at the restaurant and
1.16Dave worked at the other at the pharmacy; and
1.17WHEREAS, the business has also engendered strong loyalty from its employees, many of
1.18who have worked there for over 20 years; from its loyal customers; and from the city, as the annual
1.19Newport celebration, Pioneer Day, originated at the Newport Center; and
1.20NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Minnesota that it
1.21congratulates the Norths on their retirement and wishes their family continued success in Newport
1.22Drug and North Pole.
1.23BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is directed to prepare an
1.24enrolled copy of this resolution, to be authenticated by the Secretary's signature and that of the
1.25Chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, and transmit it to Dave and Mary North
1.26of Newport, Minnesota.

Cal R. LudemanSecretary of the Senate

Paul E. GazelkaChair, Senate Committee onRules and Administration

Karla BighamState Senator, District 54