A rural event venue north of St. Joseph remains at the center of a court dispute after its owner was held in contempt for continuing to host weddings and parties despite an order to stop. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office issued a public advisory warning people considering bookings at the Hay Shed, an event center at 36271 County Road 2 in St. Wendel Township, that the property remains subject to the legal dispute over venue regulations, according to WJON.
The venue is owned by Aloysius Studinski, who has charged wedding parties and other groups to hold events there, according to AM 1240 WJON. A Stearns County judge ordered Studinski in August to stop using the property as an event venue unless he complied with applicable requirements. WJON reported that events continued into September, and the sheriff's office advisory says Studinski was subsequently held in contempt of court.
The court order addresses safety, fire, septic and other requirements that apply to venue-rental businesses in Minnesota, according to WJON. The county's legal action against Studinski dates to January, and the sheriff's office has said it received complaints about large events at the property during the dispute.
Owner Disputes That the Rules Even Apply
Studinski has disputed the proceedings and argued that the venue requirements do not apply to his property, according to WJON. He has said he is tax-exempt, is not a U.S. citizen and that events held at the property were private parties rather than commercial gatherings subject to venue requirements.
How county rules can apply to rural event venues
The county's general permitting framework helps explain why construction and land-use approvals can become issues for event properties outside city limits. According to Stearns County Land Use & Development Services, a construction site permit is required outside city limits when a structure is built, moved, added to or altered. The department also says conditional or interim use permits may be required for land uses that are not automatically allowed in a zoning district and may be approved with attached conditions. Fire compliance is another part of the broader regulatory picture for buildings used by the public. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety's State Fire Marshal provides sample inspection checklists aligned with the 2020 Minnesota State Fire Code, including a checklist for assembly occupancies.
Studinski applied for a permit for an agricultural shed on the property back in 2023, per a report from WJON, though that application predates the legal fight now playing out in court. Despite the contempt finding, the station's report indicates he has kept the business running in defiance of the order.
Officials Warn Would-Be Clients Ahead of Next Hearing
The sheriff's office and county attorney's office are warning prospective customers about the court order before they book the property. Sheriff Steve Soyka and County Attorney Janelle Kendall were identified in the advisory as officials seeking to make the order known to people considering contracts with the Hay Shed, according to the station's report.
Another hearing in the case is scheduled for October 16. The sheriff's office says future events at the Hay Shed will be shut down until Studinski complies with the court's orders.
The dispute echoes a broader tension that has played out at barn-wedding venues elsewhere in Minnesota, where bringing older agricultural buildings up to code for public gatherings can carry steep costs. A Minnesota House of Representatives report on a 2018 fire-code proposal noted that barn-wedding operators Wayne Butt and Randy Schmitz had each spent seven figures to bring their venues into compliance, though it's not clear from that account how directly comparable their situations were to the Hay Shed's ongoing fight.
