Long before RFK Jr., Brainerd fought bitter legal battle over fluoride in its water supply
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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.
Nieboer lives in Mora, but has written other plays about Brainerd history, including robber Baby Face Nelson’s 1933 bank heist. Nieboer said he’s always been fascinated by the story of Brainerd’s resistance to fluoridation, led by what he describes as “a motley band of people of all different political stripes.”
“The idea that they could band together to achieve this common goal was really intriguing to me,” Nieboer said. “And then the perseverance and the tenacity with which they stuck together, that's impressive. No matter what the issue is, that’s some commitment.”
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Brainerd’s battle to keep fluoride out of its drinking water stretched more than 30 years. City officials resisted a 1967 state law requiring fluoridation of municipal water supplies. Residents twice rejected fluoride in city referendums.
Wendy DeGeest, the show’s choreographer, graduated from high school in Brainerd in the 1970s, when the issue was dividing the community.
“I remember the controversy,” DeGeest said. “I remember people all up in arms, and it was a very big thing. There was a lot of anti-fluoride people.”
In 1976, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the city must fluoridate its water. A judge later found five City Council members in contempt of court, and ordered them to pay fines of $250 a day for not complying.
The battle ended 45 years ago on Feb. 7, 1980, when Brainerd’s water and light superintendent flipped a switch, and fluoride entered the city’s water supply. It was the last Minnesota city to do so.
Brainerd’s legal fight against fluoride might seem like ancient history. But until about two years ago, the city still maintained a non-fluoridated tap at its water treatment plant, where people could fill up containers.
Brainerd Mayor Dave Badeaux said people still occasionally bring up the fluoride fight when complaining about what they see as government overreach.
“That’s just a level of who we are,” Badeaux said. “We are a defiant people, and we like to be on the right side of things, and we’d like to be the good people. But if you’re going to tell us we must do something, very quickly you’re going to find that people will dig their heels in.”
RFK Jr.’s nomination to be U.S. health secretary has resurrected the old debate over fluoridation. Kennedy, who is awaiting a confirmation vote in the Senate, has said the Trump administration will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.
However, most health experts say fluoridation is safe, and has significant benefits.
“Fluoride is a mineral that has been shown to be protective against dental caries or cavities in both adults and children,” said Lisa Harnack, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. “And that’s why we’re putting it in the water.”
While many toothpastes do contain fluoride, it’s not as reliable of a source, Harnack said.
“From a public health perspective, it’s really protecting more people by having it in the water versus advising people to brush daily,” she said.
The Minnesota Dental Association, which supports adding fluoride to water supplies, says research has shown it helps reduce tooth decay by almost 25 percent.
“It’s the evidence like this that leads me to believe that it is safe and desirable to have fluoride in the water,” said Dr. Alejandro Aguirre, the association’s president.
Too much fluoride can cause fluorosis, or splotches on children’s teeth, considered a cosmetic issue and not a cause for concern. In recent years, some studies have suggested high levels of fluoride might cause lower IQ in children, but not at the levels currently used in U.S. drinking water.
“Fluoride, the Musical” opens at the Franklin Arts Center on Feb. 27. Some of the characters are based on real-life people, but their names have been changed.
The show’s director, Gary Hirsch, isn’t sure how audiences will react to the play, but said he thinks fluoride being back in the news is certain to generate more interest. Hirsch said the play is humorous, not political and treats both viewpoints fairly.
“It does not go after any one particular group,” he said. “It just helps understand what the community had gone through. I believe the issue of fluoride in Brainerd at this time is settled, and we’re hoping it stays that way.”
Nieboer said one of the play’s themes is even when there’s controversy in a community, people can still get along, as proven by two characters based on real people — the city’s pro-fluoride dentist and its anti-fluoride mayor.
“They were able to put aside their political differences and remain friends through all of that,” Nieboer said. “And I think that's a good model for everybody.”