Permit requirements shut down another kid's lemonade stand -- but it's not what you think

Lemonade Day is a big deal in Indianapolis. It's a day dedicated to helping children learn simple business skills with their own small business ventures. But for 10-year-old Morgen Morris, Lemonade Day became a lesson in government regulation and unforeseen circumstances.

"I was very excited. I thought I was going to make a lot of money," Morgen said.

With her lemonade stand sponsored by a local radio station, she scored a hot sales spot at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  But just an hour into selling glasses of her chilled "Peachy-Keen" lemonade, sales came to a screeching halt when an IMS employee told her to close up shop.

The reason?

She didn't have a permit from the Marion County Health Department to sell food or beverages.

In this case, however, it wasn't the government shutting down the kid's entrepreneurial experiment. The good folks of Marion County actually waive the normal permit requirements on Lemonade Day. But the fear of the health department finding an unlicensed vendor is enough for any venue take action in protecting itself and its customers.

Fortunately, when life handed Morgen lemons, she was able to make some proverbial lemonade:

Morgen's mother Telisha Morris said, "Seeing her cry, I was hurt and it made me cry."

But Telisha used it as a "business lesson" telling her daughter, "Things don't always go as you planned, sometimes there's a bump and you learn to overcome."

IMS learned a lesson too, quickly making amends.

Morgen said, "I feel very happy about things. The IMS was very apologetic."

Monday, they told her the were donating $500 to the American Heart Association in her name. After hearing her story on WIBC radio Monday morning, one listener donated $250 and another $500.

"To know that a stranger called into help a family, children they've never seen before doing something good really touched me. We always teach our children there are a lot of good people in the world," Telisha said.