By Duane Ninneman Sometimes we don’t even need to ask the question to get the answer. That was the case on Thursday, October 25, when Supervisors from Ortonville Township convened a Community Information Forum to discuss recent developments surrounding Strata Corporation’s proposal to mine the granite outcrops at the headwaters of the Minnesota River. Sixty … Continue reading »
The public is invited to a Strata Quarry Community Information & Listening Session tonight (Thursday, October 25) at 7pm at the New Life Baptist Church at 605 Minnesota Street North in Ortonville. A plan by Strata Corporation of North Dakota to develop a granite aggregate quarry just south of Ortonville, in Ortonville Township, Big Stone … Continue reading »
On Monday, October 15 at 3 p.m. 30 citizens attended the City of Ortonville’s Planning and Zoning Commission hearing to consider proposed changes to the city’s annexation ordinance. The issue Local Ortonville Township landowners believe the change is designed to make it easier for Strata Corporation to move swiftly with plans to do an end … Continue reading »
Rebecca Terk writes in Annexation–Without the Mess! that: In order to make Strata Corporation’s plan to blast and crush the outcrops along the headwaters of the Minnesota River as smooth and painless as possible, the Planning Commission of the City of Ortonville is holding a public hearing October 15th to give lip service to the idea of … Continue reading »
by Rebecca Terk, crossposted from Big Stone Bounty Packets have gone out to the Ortonville City Council this evening for Monday’s 7pm meeting in the Ortonville Public Library Media Center. On the agenda, under New Business: “Hedge Annexation.” Rumors of Ortonville City’s possible annexation of the proposed Strata aggregate quarry site in Ortonville Township have … Continue reading »
You are invited to the Land Stewardship Project workshop:Using Township Zoning Powers to Control Frac Sand Mining & Harmful Developments. While geared toward frac sand mining concerns in Southeastern Minnesota, local officials and concerned citizens from across the state may find the training helpful. There are two opportunities to attend: Thursday, Aug. 23, in Frontenac … Continue reading »
The Final Countdown has begun on the Strata Corporation conditional use permit application in Big Stone County. Commissioners meet tomorrow morning and a Strata Update is on the agenda for 8:45AM at the Big Stone County Courthouse. Only 15 minutes have been allocated and yet we may not assume that a vote will not be … Continue reading »
On April 25, Big Stone County citizens challenging a conditional use permit request by Strata Corporation to create a new granite blasting and crushing quarry next to homes, a bike trail and the Minnesota River delivered materials that outline the many issues intended to prove the point that Strata’s proposal is the wrong project at … Continue reading »
In the edited excerpt below, Big Stone County resident and Land Stewardship Project organizer Rebecca Terk testifies about the situation facing the Big Stone County Commissioners as they near a vote on a Conditional Use Permit that would allow Strata Corporation, located in Grand Forks, ND, to operate a granite quarry amid a rare landscape, … Continue reading »
A reminder about the deadline for written testimony on the Strata Conditional Use Permit: Written testimony and documentary evidence may still be submitted as part of the public hearing through the County Auditor’s Office in the Big Stone County courthouse by 4PM on April 25. Strata Corporation C.U.P. % County Auditor 20 2nd St SE … Continue reading »
