Dairy operation to reopen

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizen’s Board today in St. Paul will hear the case to allow Excel Dairy, a rural Thief River Falls mega-dairy, to once again fill its barns and produce milk. The dairy has been closed and empty of cows since January 2009, when the state filed air quality regulation violations against the dairy and its parent company, the Dairy Dozen. Earlier this month, Excel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but plans to re-open as soon as possible, said company owner/manager Rick Milner.

By: By Kevin Bonham and Stephen J. Lee, Forum Communications Co., The Jamestown Sun