BLACKHOOF TOWNSHIP, Minn. (Northern News Now) - A proposed natural cemetery on a 20-acre plot in Carlton County has become the center of a federal court battle as demand for sustainable burial practices grows across Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Health reports rising demand for sustainable burials, also known as green or natural burials. The practice allows people to be buried directly in the ground without embalming fluids or traditional caskets.

The controversial plot of land in Blackhoof Township was purchased in 2023 by Steelmantown Church, a New Jersey nonprofit that runs natural cemeteries in other parts of the country.

Matt Connell, caretaker of Loving Earth Memorial Gardens, the 512-plot natural cemetery planned for the land, hopes the former hay field will become a pea

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