EXCERPT: “The request has gotten caught up in a larger debate over the conversion of forests to potato fields in Minnesota’s Pineland Sands region, which covers Wadena, Cass, Becker and Hubbard counties. Nolte’s request came at a time of heightened concern over how widespread land use changes in the region — clearing forest to make way for growing potatoes and other row crops — is affecting the land and water. The region’s sandy soil allows nitrates from fertilizer to travel easily into the groundwater, the source of drinking water for the majority of local residents. Recent tests have found more than 10 percent of the private wells in some townships have nitrate levels above the state health standard for drinking water.” FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/2RnhkQY
