The Minnesota Department of Agriculture announced Friday, May 11 that they have scheduled additional informational hearings around the state to discuss the proposed nitrate rule, including a stop in Red Wing on June 5. The announcement comes a little more than a week after Senator Mike Goggin (R-Red Wing) wrote to Department of Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson to demand a hearing be added in Senate District 21.

Senator Goggin sent the letter after Commissioner Frederickson pledged to hold a meeting in Senator Goggin’s district, but did not include one when the first round of public input hearings were announced.

“This is great news for farmers and landowners down here,” said Senator Goggin. “Even though it’s only an informational hearing, it will give the people here an important opportunity to have their voice heard. Our area would be heavily impacted by the proposed new rule, and to leave us out of the public input process would have been wrong. I thank Commissioner Frederickson for making this right, and I look forward to the meeting.”

As a reminder, this is an informational hearing only. Residents are strongly encouraged to submit formal comments and testimony to the Department of Agriculture. Visit www.mda.state.mn.us/gwprhearingnotice for more information about how to submit comments.

Details on the Red Wing informational nitrate meeting are as follows:

Red Wing Nitrate Meeting
Tuesday, June 5
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota State College Southeast
308 Pioneer Road
Red Wing, MN 55066