Long before RFK Jr., Brainerd fought bitter legal battle over fluoride in its water supply

At the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd, actors with the Stage North Theatre Company are rehearsing their upcoming show, “Fluoride, the Musical,”featuring tap-dancing teeth and dentists in white coats carrying giant toothbrushes. Playwright Roger Nieboer started working on the script more than a year ago, before anyone knew fluoride would be back in the headlines. […]

Stage North Theatre Company announces 2025 season

BRAINERD — Stage North Theatre Company unveiled its 2025 Season of plays. Kicking off the 11th season is an original, historical, musical production entitled “Fluoride, the Musical.” It re-examines Brainerd’s infamous battle to stay fluoride-free and the philosophical predicament that ensues when the city finds itself battling the state of Minnesota. With script and music […]

City of Battle Lake says water is safe to drink again

BATTLE LAKE, Minn. (Valley News Live) – Officials with the City of Battle Lake say the drinking water in town is safe to use again, after a pump issue resulted in too much fluoride in the water. A ‘Do Not Drink Advisory’ was put into place in Battle Lake, Minnesota, on September 3. The warning […]

Bygones: In 1982, Superior considered fluoride in tap water

Bygones is researched and written by David Ouse, retired reference librarian from the Duluth Public Library. News Tribune, May 5, 1982 Voters in the Duluth school district yesterday rejected a $2 million-a-year excess tax levy and a $2.5 million bond issue to bring schools into compliance with fire codes. That means more cuts will probably […]

Reformer Radio: Marathon v. the Teamsters

Workers at the oil refinery in St. Paul Park say the plant’s owner, Marathon, has put them on a path to catastrophe. “Safety’s kinda went on the backburner.… Especially now that big corporation Marathon owns us. It’s pretty much corporate greed over safety,” said Matt Foss, a fire mechanic and rescue squad lieutenant who’s worked […]

3M pays $80,000 over handling of hazardous waste in Cottage Grove

Leaking of “extremely toxic” hydrofluoric acid cited among problems. 3M’s Cottage Grove manufacturing facility 3M Co. paid $80,000 for numerous alleged hazardous waste violations at its Cottage Grove plant and incinerator, according to an enforcement action the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced Wednesday. At issue was a release of “extremely toxic” hydrofluoric acid, a […]

Investigation targets discharges of next-generation ‘forever chemicals’ from 3M’s Cottage Grove plant

Cottage Grove plant focus of investigations into PFAS materials. State and federal pollution regulators are investigating 3M Co.’s reporting on next-generation “forever chemicals” discharged from its Cottage Grove plant into the Mississippi River, even as Minnesota struggles to address ever-growing contamination from the original versions the manufacturer no longer makes. 3M’s Cottage Grove plant has […]

Minnesota Public Water Systems and COVID-19

Excerpt Would MDH [Minnesota Department of Health] allow flexibility in routine sampling timeframes in the event that we are only able to maintain essential services to keep things running? Systems are still required to collect samples during their monitoring periods. MDH is working on this issue and will provide additional information as it becomes available. […]

The Northland’s top stories of the decade

An enormous plume of smoke from a second fire at the Husky Energy refinery in Superior billows to the south on April 27, 2018. Residents within 10 miles in the direction of the smoke were evacuated. (File / News Tribune) With a new decade dawning, the News Tribune staff decided to look back at the […]