Odd Laws Still on the Books
Studded tires for the mail carrier, a black triangle and litter on the ice: real Minnesota sections
Lists of strange state laws get passed around with no section number attached. Every one below has one, read from the Minnesota Statutes.
Who handles this in Minnesota: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Minnesota directory.
| The law | What it says |
|---|---|
| The lawStudded tires | What it saysNo tire on the highway may have studs or spikes, with exceptions: visitors from a place that allows them may use them occasionally, and a rural mail carrier may get a permit, but must take them off by 12:01 a.m. on April 16 each year. |
| The lawThe black triangle | What it saysWith a state permit, a slow moving vehicle may use an alternate emblem, a dull black triangle with a white reflective border, if it carries the orange one for night and bad weather and has at least 72 square inches of red reflective tape on the back. |
| The lawLitter on the ice | What it saysLeaving litter on the ice of public waters is littering, and the section names cigarette filters and fireworks debris. |
| The lawThe ceremony exception | What it saysTobacco furnished to a person under 21 as part of a traditional Indian spiritual or cultural ceremony is outside the tobacco age law. |
Many laws that sound strange are city or county ordinances rather than state law, and those differ from place to place; this page covers only the Minnesota Statutes. Whether a particular act broke one of these sections is a question for a licensed Minnesota attorney.
Sources for this section (4)
- Minn. Stat. 169.72 — Tire surface; metal studs
- Minn. Stat. 169.522 — Slow moving vehicle emblem
- Minn. Stat. 609.68 — Unlawful deposit of garbage, litter or the like
- Minn. Stat. 609.685 — Sale of tobacco to persons under age 21
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Minnesota attorney.