While Minneapolis Debates Bathhouses, Another MN City Has Had One For Years

The City of Minneapolis is considering allowing bathhouses and sex venues to open again after being closed since the 1980s. They are moving to re-legalize and regulate bathhouses, and it's getting a lot of press.

Bathhouses were banned in the 1980s when the AIDS crisis became a public health concern. Nearly all US urban areas passed ordinances to close the adult saunas across the country.

A lot has changed in 40 years. Some councilors believe that LGBTQIA+ gathering spaces have been unfairly targeted, like council member Jason Chavez, according ot the Star Tribune. 

"LGBTQIA+ gathering spaces, including bathhouses, have long been targeted by criminalization and policing, and our communities have paid a devastating price for that."

The council's proposed ordinances would establish rules for and licensing for places where adults engage in consensual sexual activity. It would also amend zoning codes, health and sanitation codes, and add exceptions to the city's miscellaneous offenses code. You can read more in-depth about the changes from CBS News.

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The Minneapolis City Council will take the issue up again on Tuesday, April 14th.

Meanwhile, in Duluth and a few other cities in the United States, bathhouses have been allowed to operate for years. The Duluth Family Sauna has been around for nearly a 100 years, starting as a place for the public to warm up and clean up after working outside in the frigid Northland in the 1920s & 1930s.

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As time went on, public saunas diminished after indoor plumbing became widespread in homes. The Duluth Family Sauna still operates with private rooms for rent upstairs, but downstairs is men-only.

Called the "Bullpen," the lower level is for men only and has a common locker room along with private resting rooms, according to their website. At some points, the sauna offered overnight options, but now the hours are Noon - 10 PM Monday - Saturday.