diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index 8d1b7b6..beb6aa0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install build tools
       run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip
-        python -m pip install --upgrade setuptools wheel build twine
+        python -m pip install --upgrade setuptools build twine
 
     - name: Build packages
       # creates the necessary distribution files to /dist
diff --git a/docs/source/whatsnew.md b/docs/source/whatsnew.md
index 734e0f0..0e99161 100644
--- a/docs/source/whatsnew.md
+++ b/docs/source/whatsnew.md
@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.2.7] - 2025-XX-YY
+
+### Packaging
+- Changed the setuptools minimum version from 61 to 70.1 (see PR#67).
+
 ## [0.2.6] - 2024-12-11
 
 ### Packaging
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 2aae426..60be5ff 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [build-system]
 requires = [
-    "setuptools>61",  # start of support for pyproject.toml/PEP 621. https://setuptools.pypa.io/en/stable/history.html#v61-0-0
+    "setuptools>=70.1",
     "setuptools-scm",
 ]
 build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"