Groups protesting frac-sand conference in La Crosse on Tuesday

Protesters from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin will gather

Frac Sand will be all the hype in downtown La Crosse on Tuesday.

The Frac Sand Insider Conference takes place all day May 10-11 at the La Crosse Center. Outside, at 5 p.m. Tuesday, several groups will be protesting the industry. 

“We’ll have a peaceful but forceful speakers,” Land Stewardship Program’s Doug Nopar said of the protest. “Basically, speakers from around the area expressing their concern about the industries’ plan.”

Groups from Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin will be on hand to speak against fracking. 

“We’ll call on public officials to institute a ban on frac-sand mining and to address, at all levels of government, a more vibrant renewable energy policy,” Nopar said.

The Families Resisting Energy Extraction (FREE) alliance says, in an area where natural resources are vital, more research needs to be done about the effectiveness of frac-sand mining. 

“It’s had a negative impact on water quality, air quality,” Nopar said. “Truck-traffic damaged to rural roads. 

“We’ve seen an impact on beginning farmers to secure farmland because the mining interest ups the price of that land.”

Inside, the conference will focus giving manufacturers and consultants an opportunity to meet directly with decision-makers from producers throughout North America. Read about by clicking here.