The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has added five counties to a deer feeding and attractant ban to reduce the risk of chronic wasting disease spreading, following the detection of CWD in wild deer in new areas of the state last year. Counties added to the feeding and attractant ban are Becker, Clearwater, Grant, McLeod, and Meeker. The ban now includes 37 Minnesota counties in all. DNR officials say where people place food or attractants out for deer, higher numbers of deer tend to congregate in one place, and that the feeding and attractant ban is one tool to reduce the unnatural congregating of deer and lower the risk of CWD spread. Even in areas outside the ban, the Minnesota DNR discourages people from feeding deer. More information on the ban can be found on the DNR website.