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Parents Angry After Savage Gun Shop Opens Next To School

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Parents of some children at a Savage elementary school are worried about safety after a gun shop opened close to the school.

The Modern Sportsman opened in a strip mall along Egan Drive in May.

Harriet Bishop Elementary School is less than 100 yards from the gun store's back door, separated by a fence and a hill.

"Where is the common sense opening up a store like that?" said parent Sarah Kahlberg. "My children are going to be out on that playground every day playing."

Some parents whose children attend the elementary school brought their concerns to the city of Savage in early July.

"We, in no way, are saying there should not be gun stores. And we're in no way saying that there shouldn't be small business owners in Savage," Susan Isebrand said. "We understand the contribution that that makes to our community. The problem is that it's literally right next store to a gun-free zone. To me, that seems really ridiculous."

The Modern Sportsman
(credit: CBS)

Savage City Administrator Barry Stock said the city's first three gun stores ever opened in just the last two years.

There is no ordinance about where such businesses can be in proximity to a school.

"Once a business has located, you cannot pass an ordinance that would regulate that business out of existence," Stock said.

The Modern Sportsman owner John McConkey does not think there is anything he can do to change other peoples' opinions about the location of his store. But he wants to reassure everyone he is following all proper laws and procedures for his business.

"You know, there's always obstacles to overcome in any business," McConkey said. "I realize we have a lot of support, locally."

The city of Savage says Minneapolis and St. Paul have ordinances about how far firearms dealers have to be located from a school.

Officials are reviewing those ordinances to see what it can take away to eventually make a Savage city ordinance.

The city council will discuss those rules in September, but a new regulation would not impact already-existing businesses.

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