I usually try to keep politics to a minimum when I’m writing in a public space, but I’ve been stewing over an issue since yesterday afternoon. The mayor of my hometown of Red Wing has accepted a job as the executive director for the Minnesota Industrial Sand Council. He will be lobbying for companies to open sand mines throughout the state. Judging by the number of posts on the topic that have shown up on my newsfeed on Facebook, many residents and former residents of this little city are not happy.
Mined silica sand is a key ingredient in the hydraulic fracking process. For those who don’t know what fracking is, it’s basically the use of sand, water, and chemicals at pressures high enough to further break fractures or to create fractures in rocks deep below the earth’s surface in order to release natural gas and oil.
I’m not going to use this post as an argument against sand mining, because I honestly think that, in the right location (preferably not here), the industry could do some good. However, like many other towns, this has been a huge issue for my community for the past couple years, and it’s seemed as though the majority of its residents, especially those with homes in the vicinity of the proposed mining sites, are against the industry’s presence here. In fact, the town has been so against it that the city council changed its zoning ordinances to prevent sand mining within Red Wing’s limits. The county commission also declared a moratorium to temporarily stop the possibility of a sand mine opening in Goodhue County, but that is set to end later this year without extension.
But my issue right now isn’t about the possibility of mining in the area — it’s about a man who wants to be part of a group that tries to ban sand mining locally, yet lobbies for it at the statewide level. While the issue may seem to have been resolved within city limits, it’s still very much alive throughout the county. Mayor Egan says his new job as a lobbyist for this council will not conflict with his duties to represent Red Wing. I can pretty much guarantee that if he had accepted this job before the election this past November, he would not be our mayor today.
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