According to a report from the Associated Press, a 13-year-old Mennonite boy has been charged with violating a steel-wheel ordinance in the state's Mitchell County. On January 31, four citations were issued to Matthew Zimmerman, who was using a piece of farm equipment to pull a wagon filled with hay bales.
The 13-year-old pleaded not guilty and will face trial on March 3.
It is illegal to travel on the county's roads with steel wheels. The AP report said that supervisors in the county would not weigh compromising the ordinance, which presents a difficulty for certain religious groups.
"Mennonite and Amish farmers say the use of conventional wheels would violate rules set by their governing bodies," the AP said.
According to the Mennonite Church USA, the religion has been around for almost 500 years. While some orders of it eschew technology and opt to live in more basic farming communities, others do permit the use of electricity.
