The Crow Wing County Board heard more than two hours of testimony Nov. 25 on a petition to create the Mission Lakes Lake Improvement District (LID), with residents split over whether the two connected bodies — Upper Mission and Lower Mission — should be combined into a single taxing district.

Jessica (Land Services) said the petition, originally submitted in June 2025 and resubmitted Oct. 7, reported 118 of 218 property owners (54%) in favor and that the county must hold a public hearing within 30 days. She emphasized there was no decision at this meeting and that the board will return Dec. 16 to review the petition against statutory findings of necessity, adequacy of procedures and other criteria.

Supporters, including John Zoy (president of the Mission Lakes Association), Rick Peters (Crow Wing Lake Improvement District) and several homeowners, argued the LID would provide stable, equitable funding to manage invasive aquatic species, seek grants and implement monitoring and treatment plans. Zoy said voluntary donations from about 45% of lakeshore owners were insufficient and that a LID is a "proven and community-driven" tool to protect water quality.

Opponents, including several Upper Mission residents, cited DNR and BWSR assessments showing Upper Mission scores at or above objectives and argued the petition bundles two biologically distinct lakes with different needs. Kevin Schmidt and others questioned the petition's framing, disputed claims about water-quality decline on Upper Mission, and said spending history disproportionately targeted Lower Mission. Concerns included the fairness of levying Upper Mission property owners to pay for Lower Mission treatments, whether petition outreach was sufficiently inclusive, and whether the $250 assessment could become an open-ended levy in future years.

Speakers also raised technical and safety questions about chemical treatments. Matt Kelly and others cited state regulatory changes and potential restrictions on herbicides and warned about emerging PFAS concerns; association representatives and staff explained required placarding, the DNR's 15% littoral-acre treatment limit, and that some herbicides used have no post-treatment restrictions on swimming or domestic use per product directions.

Jessica told commissioners that a LID structured with a set $250 cap cannot increase above that amount without a new petition unless the district later amends its petition structure; some existing LIDs have chosen alternate petition language allowing annual budget-based changes instead. The board closed the hearing at 10:17 a.m. and will consider the record and statutory findings on Dec. 16 before making a definitive decision.