MINNEAPOLIS — As debate picks up over whether a lake named for a Confederate leader, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has affirmed its authority to change lake names, and a key agency official has advised Hennepin County to conduct a public hearing to discuss the matter.

The Star Tribune reports that the controversy over the name surfaced in September when the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted to add Lake Calhoun’s original tribal name to area signs after activists said the name Calhoun is offensive. Lake Calhoun was named for John C. Calhoun, a former U.S. vice president from South Carolina and proponent of slavery.

Questions had arisen after the board’s legal counsel advised that it has no authority to change the lake’s name.