RED WING, Minn. - Near the muddy banks of Hay Creek, a popular trout stream, are significant bluffs covered with a hardwood forest of oak, bass wood and black cherry trees. Underneath the forested ...

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is allowing more frac sand mines to open even though it let its environmental regulations on the industry expire nine months ago because the rules didn’t ...

Frac sand destined for the oil and gas fields piles up at the EOG Resources Inc. processing plant in Chippewa Falls, Wisc. CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — Largely overlooked in the national debate over ...

To extract the sand, mining companies use explosives to blast loose sediments and then use heavy excavation and water treatment equipment to extract and process the sand. Once ready for shipping, ...

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) – The rolling hills and scenic bluffs of western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota hide a valuable resource that has sparked what’s been called a modern-day gold rush. The ...

Everyone here is engulfed in mining. It’s a huge workload for us.” Frac sand fever has hit much of west-central Wisconsin, catching residents and local governments by surprise. Permit applications ...

More than 50 people gathered in Minneapolis Monday to protest frac sand mining outside a conference on the silica sand resources of Minnesota and Wisconsin. “This is total destruction,” said Kathleen ...

Opponents recently succeeded in blocking a permit for a frac sand processing plant next door to the Cochrane-Fountain City School, a K-12 school in Buffalo County. And opposition to frac sand mining ...

The town of Orange is the first in Juneau County to enact an ordinance regulating frac sand mining. “We’re not creating a moratorium on it by any means,” said town Chairman Mike Keichinger. “But we’ve ...

MADISON -- Two Republican state legislators are seeking support for a far-reaching new law that would vastly diminish local government power to regulate rock blasting and frac sand mining. If enacted, ...