St. Louis County, MN Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Section 10 of Ordinance No. 56, the Mesabi Trail Ordinance, addresses meetings, speeches, demonstrations, and parades directly: it is unlawful to conduct a public meeting, assembly, parade, or gathering on the trail that would interfere with or obstruct travel in the Trail Corridor unless the organizer holds a written permit from a Ranger. Rangers, defined in Section 2(C), are persons vested by the St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority with authority to enforce trail rules and issue permits under the ordinance. Enforcement runs through Section 11: licensed peace officers are also authorized to enforce the ordinance and, along with Rangers, may issue citations and eject from the Trail Corridor any person acting in violation.

A Ranger holds authority to revoke any permit for good cause, including a permittee's violation of any trail ordinance, rule, or regulation, and any part of the corridor may be declared closed to the public or certain uses whenever the Authority or a Ranger finds it reasonably necessary. Because the permit requirement is written into a corridor-specific ordinance enacted under Minn. 51, it governs assemblies and parades on the Mesabi Trail right-of-way specifically, not a general countywide special-event permit program; organizers of parades elsewhere in unincorporated St. Louis County should check with the relevant township or the county administration separately.