Residents urge Ishpeming City Council to hold public hearing on water fluoridation

Multiple residents used the public-comment period at the Ishpeming City Council meeting to ask the council to hold a public hearing on water fluoridation.

Negaunee resident Carrie Plummer told the council she had emailed members a large packet of research and argued that proponents’ claims that fluoridation is “safe and effective” do not reflect the evidence she cited. Plummer said, “I m here to ask the city council to please hold a public hearing on this issue.” She and several other speakers pointed to recent research summaries and a federal court ruling referenced in their remarks and urged the council to allow a structured public forum.

Why this matters: Speakers framed fluoridation as both a public-health policy and a matter of individual medical consent. Several residents said the issue affects children and pregnant people and asked the council to gather expert testimony. No council member announced steps to schedule a hearing during the meeting.

What speakers said and asked

- Carrie Plummer (Negaunee resident) asked for a council-hosted public hearing and provided emailed materials. She criticized broad statements that fluoridation is “absolutely safe” and cited international reviews and a recent National Toxicology Program (NTP) assessment mentioned by other speakers.

- A second speaker (identified in the record as speaker 10) referenced a September federal court ruling attributed to “Judge Chen,” saying the ruling found that fluoridation at commonly used concentrations poses “unreasonable risk of neurological harm to our children and the unborn.” That speaker urged a town meeting so health professionals could present additional information.

- Jeff Plummer (resident) described family experiences with dental fluorosis in a young child and the cost and effort required to remove fluoride from household water, saying his family now uses reverse-osmosis water for many uses.

- Other residents, including Amanda Ganavetti (Ishpeming business owner), Kristen Rainey (Negaunee resident), Dr. Frank Jeffries (holistic chiropractor), and multiple others, urged the council to hold a hearing or otherwise consider ending or pausing fluoridation. Several speakers said fluoride in local water comes from industrial sources such as phosphate fertilizer plants (hydrofluosilicic acid) rather than pharmaceutical-grade fluoride.

Council response and next steps

Council members listened during the public-comment period but did not vote, direct staff to schedule a hearing, or adopt a resolution during the meeting. Several speakers explicitly asked the council to put a hearing on a future agenda so “both sides can come to the table.”

Ending

The meeting record shows sustained public interest and written materials provided to council members; the council did not announce a date or formal plan for a hearing during this session. Residents requested public-notice type outreach so any hearing would include both proponents and opponents and expert testimony.