Blue Earth, Nicollet counties removed from rifle deer hunting bill

Blue Earth and Nicollet counties would not be included in a bill that would allow high-powered rifle deer hunting in southern Minnesota, after a change was made in the state Senate.

The proposed legislation would allow any legal firearm to be used statewide for deer hunting, changing long-standing rules that only allow shotgun hunting in southern Minnesota. In the more wooded northern Minnesota many hunters use high-powered rifles.

The bill has drawn support from some hunters while opposed by others. The main concern raised is about potential dangers of allowing rifles — which send bullets much farther — to be used in southern Minnesota where there are more open areas, including farm fields.

“We heard from my constituents and a significant number were worried about the safety of it,” said Sen. Nick Frentz, DFL-North Mankato, who represents all of Nicollet County and a part of Blue Earth County.

Frentz recently asked Sen. Foung Hawj to remove the two counties from the Senate version of the bill. Hawj, of St. Paul, is the chair of the Senate Environment, Climate and Legacy Committee that is hearing the bill.

Frentz said that constituents worried about the idea of rifle hunting included hunters.

After Rochester and Olmsted County officials earlier raised concerns about rifle use, Olmsted County also was removed from the Senate legislation.

While the bill is slowly moving through the Senate, the House version hasn’t yet had a hearing in the House.