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Continuing series: Frac Sand Fever

Frac sand mining

Deal nixes effort to ban frac sand mining near trout streams

Mining won’t be banned near trout streams, but DNR permitting procedure is put in play. Updated May. 15, 2013
- Continuing series: Frac Sand Fever

Frac Sand Fever is a periodic Star Tribune series on the sand mining boom in Minnesota and Wisconsin as "hydro-fracking'' revolutionizes the nation's oil and gas industry.

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Wisconsin bluff towns trying to ban frac-sand mining along Lake Pepin
Article By: TONY KENNEDY ,Star Tribune Publish May 23, 2013 2:00 AM / Update May 22, 2013 9:56 PM
A proposed Pepin County ordinance would ban frac-sand mining along a scenic stretch of Wisconsin bluff.

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"Mount Frac" in downtown Winona

Firm agrees to in-depth study on frac sand in Winona County
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish February 22, 2013 2:00 AM / Update February 21, 2013 11:24 PM
Minnesota Sands bows to state pressure, in a move that could set a precedent for growing industry.

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Foes of the amendment call it a de-facto ban on frac-sand mining.

Dwindling frac sand legislation rests on trout stream setbacks
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish May 9, 2013 2:00 AM / Update May 8, 2013 10:28 PM
Trout stream amendment, which could see Senate vote Thursday, is facing resistance.

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Michael Gorman brought a photo of a robin to Tuesday’s news conference. He fears environmental damage from sand mining.

Southeastern Minnesota asks state for frac sand help
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish February 20, 2013 2:00 AM / Update February 20, 2013 6:27 AM
Small governments in southeastern Minnesota seek state help on studying and regulating mining, with calls for a moratorium.

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Amy Nelson, a resident of Hay Creek Township south of Red Wing, Minn., stood near a proposed frac sand mine. She got involved after land near her house was purchased with an eye to building a mine. “The more you read, the angrier you get,” she said.

Frac sand mining awakens activism in southeastern Minnesota
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish February 19, 2013 2:00 AM / Update February 19, 2013 4:00 PM
Amy Nelson joins a swell of protesters demanding study, protection as mining explodes.

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Tevlin: New frac-sand job for Red Wing mayor is legal but dumb
Article By: JON TEVLIN , Star Tribune Publish February 17, 2013 2:00 AM / Update February 16, 2013 10:46 PM

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Nowhere are the concerns about sand mining, and expectations for its e...

Red Wing's mayor gets second job with frac sand lobbying group
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish February 6, 2013 2:00 AM / Update February 6, 2013 11:36 AM
His work to promote fracking is a conflict of interest, residents say.

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"Mount Frac" in downtown Winona

In a first, Minnesota asks Winona County to assess risks of frac sand
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish February 8, 2013 2:00 AM / Update February 9, 2013 5:09 PM
Winona County will decide on requests tied to frac sand mining.

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Annexation lifted key operating restrictions on this Preferred Sands mine in western Wisconsin.

Sand mine rules melt under pressure
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish February 3, 2013 2:00 AM / Update February 4, 2013 6:05 AM
To escape a strict permit in one township, a mine was annexed by a nearby city with lax restrictions.

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Sand plant in North Branch to monitor air quality
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish January 30, 2013 2:00 AM / Update January 29, 2013 8:45 PM
Deal with state may yield needed data on health effects.

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Tevlin: Frac observers make haste to keep eyes, options open
Article By: JON TEVLIN , Star Tribune Publish January 30, 2013 2:00 AM / Update January 29, 2013 9:48 PM

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Kyle showed an outcropping of sand that is so valuable to the mining c...

Local officials dealing themselves a piece of frac sand boom
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish December 26, 2012 2:00 AM / Update December 26, 2012 3:43 PM
In a desperate effort to prevent foreclosure on his parents' farm, Kyle Slaby applied to his local township board last year for permission to mine frac sand. He dreamed of erasing more than $600,000 in debt and getting rich from deposits of high-grade crystalline silica, which is in hot demand because of the national boom in hydro-fracking for oil and gas.

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Jim and Lou Ellen Frei

Sand mining creates wealth and friction
Article By: CURT BROWN , Star Tribune Publish December 2, 2012 2:00 AM / Update December 2, 2012 2:34 PM
A farm couple cashed in on the soil that gave them fits for 40 years, gaining a new lifestyle -- and some enmity.

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Wabasha City Council boosts frac-sand rail hub
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish December 18, 2012 2:00 AM / Update December 18, 2012 12:01 AM
City Council turns back environmental challenge to the proposal.

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Kevin Lien

For regulators, sand mine riches are tough to refuse
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish October 28, 2012 2:00 AM / Update October 28, 2012 5:13 PM
As the sand rush intensifies, county regulators are being hired away by the industry, creating backlogs of work and fears of conflicts of interest.

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St. Charles, Minn.

St. Charles, Minn., ponders future as sand mining takes off
Article By: TONY KENNEDY , Star Tribune Publish September 30, 2012 2:00 AM / Update October 1, 2012 6:24 AM
St. Charles weighs chance to be the state's gateway to a new frontier.

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