FAIRMONT– After a lengthy discussion on Tuesday, the Martin County Board of Commissioners decided by majority vote to allow both shotgun and rifle hunting beginning with the 2026 deer season.

The state of Minnesota for decades has had a statute on the books that maintained the whole state be shotgun-only for deer hunting. However, following a concerted effort over the past few years, the statute has been repealed, and rifles can now be used for deer hunting. The key within the repeal is that it is up to the individual counties whether they go along with the repeal or keep their shotgun-only rule in place.

Martin County held a public hearing on the matter on Jan. 20 in which about 30 people attended, many of whom spoke up in favor of both keeping it the same and changing it.

Individual counties have until March 1 to report their decision to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

When the agenda item was brought up on Tuesday, Commissioner Joe Loughmiller made a motion to enact the ordinance establishing a shotgun use area in Martin County. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Billeye Rabbe, which opened up the item for discussion.

Commissioner Richard Koons said, “county boards are not in the position to make hunting laws. This is something that the state decided to do. They decided to do it in a back-door way that throws the counties into the driver’s seat in one way but it also throws us into a complete situation that we don’t want to be in.”

He referenced the people who spoke at the public hearing, many of whom were in favor of allowing rifle, but said he continues to hear from people.

“It’s overwhelming county-wide. The response that I have heard is, the state made the decision. Let the state decide,” Koons said.

Loughmiller, on the other hand, said that he supports the ordinance because of the people who have reached out to him.

“It has not been a consensus one way or another. It’s honestly been 50-50,” Loughmiller said. “I’m okay with this ordinance.”

Koons pushed back and alluded to issues that could arise if Martin County goes shotgun and neighboring counties go rifle, or vice versa.

“I think this is a state law and the state made the decision and I don’t think it’s something we want to be jumping back and forth every time we get a new commissioner board,” Koons said.

Commissioner Billeye Rabbe chimed in and said she has appreciated all of the calls that she has received from constituents, many of whom are rural.

“They do take an interest and look at what we’re doing and reach out and talk to us about it and I do appreciate that,” Rabbe said.

With many being rural, Rabbe said she is cautious of safety and animals and knows that rifle bullets go further that shotgun bullets. She said she has heard from people who want to keep it shotgun only.

However, Commissioner Jaime Bleess said that the vast majority of people who have reached out to him have been interested in rifles.

“The people who reached out to me are firearm instructors, youth hunter educators, people that have been hunting longer than I’ve been alive who are interested in using heirloom rifles,” Bleess said.

Commissioner Kevin Kristenson admitted that he’s been struggling with the matter as he, too, has heard from both sides.

“It was dumped on us, like Richard said. It was dumped on us and that’s the sad part about this whole situation. It was put on our laps to make this decision and it’s not an easy decision,” Kristenson said.

In a roll call vote, the motion failed 3-2 with Commissioners Koons, Bleess and Kristenson opposed and Loughmiller and Rabbe in favor.

The board on Tuesday also heard from County Recorder, Michelle Duncan, who provided a 2025 review.

Real estate recordings were up from 3,539 in 2024, to 4,130 in 2025.

As for vital records, births were down at 113 in 2025 from 135 in 2024. Deaths held steady with 220 in 2025, similar to 221 in 2024 and marriage licenses issued were up slightly in 2025 with 100, compared to 95 in 2024.

Rabbe asked specifically about how births were recorded.

“We had more deaths than births which isn’t a good thing for our population,” Rabbe said. “Are the births recorded because the citizen in Martin County is having a child or is it recorded because they are born here?”

Duncan said that it’s a state-wide system and that births are reported to the Minnesota Department of Health, and the local department has access to the records.

Rabbe pointed out that there is no place to give birth in Martin County.

“Correct, but if someone lives in Fairmont and has one in Mankato, they can come to our office and get the birth certificate for their child, even though they were born in Mankato,” Duncan said.

She said that passports have been doing really well, with 656 issued, at a cost of $35 each, and 543 passport photos provided, at a cost of $15 each. The photos are a new offering in the past year.

“We’re doing great. We brought $8,000 worth of revenue just in passport photos. It’s going really well,” Duncan said.

Also on Tuesday, the board heard a brief update from County Engineer Kevin Peyman. While he was present Rabbe asked about the area between the stop signs and railroad tracks in Imogene, which she said is high and fast traffic.

“What happens when an area is going too fast?” Rabbe asked.

Peyman said he’s talked to both the traffic engineer and traffic safety engineer about the area and stressed that the county does not set the speed on county state highways, but that MnDOT does.

“It’s a long, slow process. You have to do a speed study… we can do a speed study but the drawback of the speed study is you have to pass a resolution saying you’re going to abide by the results of the speed study, no matter how they come back,” Peyman said.

He added that the results may come back lower or higher.

“When I talked to them about the scenario they pretty much guaranteed they wold not come back lower just based on the layout of the land. I know with the bar there people would like it to be lower but the state controls that,” Peyman said.

The board acknowledged that they have heard concerns about the area many times and Rabbe thanked Peyman for publicly addressing it.

In other business, the board:

— Approved and authorized the board chair to sign a letter affirming the county’s matching share for an EDA project grant, in the amount of $80,000, as was recommended by the Martin County EDA.

— Approved renewing the contract between the Martin County Sheriff’s Office and city of Trimont for 15 hours a week for $5,267.40 a month which reflects a slight increase in cost.

— Set the 2026 Martin County Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16 at the Martin County Courthouse.