'Energy City' gets energized

Come Saturday, the residents of Elk River will get to see why exactly their community is known as Energy City. ¶ The second annual Elk River Energy Expo kicks off at 10 a.m. at the Elk River City Hall campus and aims to educate the community, both residents and businesses, about renewable and sustainable technology. All events are free. ¶ "The whole idea behind this year's expo is to get the whole community to conserve resources," said Vance Zehringer, chairman of the Energy City Commission, which is helping to host the event. ¶ And to start that education process, the commission is starting at step one: the schools.

"We think most of the older people are fairly set in their ways and will change to a certain extent," Zehringer said, "but we really need to reach out to the younger generation and make them see these resources are not endless."

As part of the energy expo, students from Spectrum High School are competing in an energy-saving invention contest. Juniors at the Elk River charter school paired off into teams to create a design for an invention that would conserve energy.

Bob Freeh, activities director at Spectrum High School, said the inventions were still in the works, but one team had constructed a water-filtration system that could recycle water as it's being used. Another team designed a solar-powered sidewalk that would provide energy to the streetlights lining it.

Freeh said he had three teams ask him how they go about patenting their ideas. "They were asking 'Now, do we retain the rights to this?' It sounded like I was talking to an entrepreneur, not a student," he said.

Ninth- and 10th-graders at the school will compete to make the best short film dealing with energy issues. Winners from both contests will be displayed at the expo.

Organizers of the event will also provide energy-saving tips and tours of energy-efficient buildings, such as the newly built Elk River City Library. Bus rides will also be available to take participants on tours of three area energy plants. There will be a coloring contest and live performances for kids.

Having been anointed "Energy City" by the Minnesota Environmental Initiative 11 years ago, the city has worked hard with energy-conscious builders, utility services, government agencies and businesses to set an example for similar communities, Zehringer said.

"Somebody has to do it, somebody has to take the lead," he said. "Why not Elk River?"

Mitch Anderson is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Star Tribune.