The Minnesota Farm Bureau (MFB) Foundation hosts a community discussion about the opioid epidemic in Winona tonight (5:30 pm). MFB Foundation Director Ruth Merrick says rural areas are being impacted by the opioid epidemic at equal levels–and in some cases–surpassing levels of the state’s urban areas.

Merrick is concerned that often when coalitions are set up to address the opioid epidemic, farmers and ranchers are not being invited to the table to have those conversations. She hopes community discussions like tonight’s in Winona are a step in the right direction.