Appeals court rules Babbitt bar violated smoking ban wth theater nights promotion

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Court of Appeals has agreed with a judge's ruling that "theater nights" in a northeastern Minnesota bar were violating the state's smoking ban.

Tank's Bar in Babbitt had allowed patrons to smoke under a loophole in the smoking ban that allows actors to smoke as part of a theatrical production.

But a St. Louis County judge ruled in May that wearing a badge that says "Actor" doesn't make it a theatrical production. On Tuesday, the appeals court agreed.

In its decision, the appeals court says "Gun SMOKE Monologues" was not real, but a sham.

Bar owner Tom Marinaro had wanted the court to offer a definition of "theatrical performance," but the court declined, saying it wouldn't discuss hypothetical situations.