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GEAGLER E D W I N G , M I N N E S O T A

www.republican-eagle.com February 16 & 17, 2013 • $125

Today’s obituaries

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Lynn Schultz, 66Monica Goeser, 73John Larson, 76William J. Keeler, 88

Dale Judy, 79Sharyn M. Zanto, 65Tiffany Manor, 46

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Wingers vs. RaidersGirls basketball season heats up / 9A

Battling carpU.S. senators push for federal action / 12A

Wingers skate into state tournamentChris Harrell/Republican Eagle

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Statewidemoratorium,laws underconsideration

By Danielle Killeydkilley@republican-eagle.com

ST. PAUL – Many Min-nesotans are not surewhether more silica sandmining could mean danger-ous dust and contaminatedwater, a booming economyor something in between. Cities and counties havetried to manage mountinginterest in mining Min-nesota’s silica sand, butwith many questions stillsurrounding the industrysome think it is time forthe state to step in. “I want to address theunanswered questionsthat are troubling ourlocal decision-makers andstakeholders and con-cerned citizens,” Sen.Matt Schmit, DFL-RedWing, said. “The state hasthe capacity to get some ofthose answers.” The Minnesota Legisla-ture will take its first lookat the issue this year onTuesday. Lawmakers willhear testimony on silicasand mining issues at ajoint House and Senatecommittee meeting, andbills will be discussed in theSenate Environment andEnergy Committee Feb. 26. The Land StewardshipProject, a nonprofit organi-zation focused on sustain-ability and land issues,plans to pack the hearing

room. The group and itspartners are pushing for astatewide environmentaland economic study to in-clude information aboutwater, health, infrastruc-ture and economic impacts,and clearer state regula-tions, policy program or-ganizer Bobby King said. “While that’s going on,we need a moratorium sothe industry doesn’t getahead of appropriate reg-ulations,” he said. A statewide moratoriumwould temporarily putnew operations on hold. Concerns about the min-ing industry include stresson roads due to increasedtruck traffic, noise and im-pacts on water and airquality. Gov. Mark Daytonhas said that transporta-tion issues are among hisbiggest concerns. The round, hard silicasand grains — mainlyfound in parts of Min-nesota, Wisconsin, Iowaand Illinois — are used toextract natural gas or oilin a process called hy-draulic fracturing, or“fracking.” The sand is in-jected along with waterand chemicals into oil andgas wells to prop opencracks and increase theproductivity of the wells. Supporters note the in-dustry can have a positiveeconomic impact on com-munities around miningor processing operations. “These businesses havelivable-wage jobs,” saidDennis Egan, head of the

Red Wing rushes to goalie Ashley Corcoran after defeating New Prague 9-1 in the Section 1Achampionship Thursday at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna to clinch a spot in the Class 1A tournament.The Wingers are headed to their fourth state tournament in five years.

Library director enjoyed his five years

Sand debatearena widens

By Rebecca Rudolphrrudolph@republican-eagle.com

The director of the RedWing Public Library willleave his position afterholding it for five years. When James Lund firstcame to Red Wing as thedirector in 2007, the li-brary had a different lookand feel to it. During his time there,he led projects like replac-ing the roof, rearrangingthe children’s collection,expanding Internet ac-cess, installing a new ele-vator, and, perhaps thebiggest one, combining thedesks, said reference staff

worker RandyDecker. Merging thecirculation andreference desks“created a seam-less team envi-ronment with thestaff ” to more ef-fectively help li-brary patrons,Lund said. He thinks that the per-sonal touch at Red Wing’slibrary is very importantand that is what makes itmore than just a place tocheck out books. The merged desks cre-ate an opportunity forthat by not having patrons

bounce betweendesks.

This month,Lund acceptedthe position atthe WestminsterSeminary Cali-fornia in Escon-dido, Calif., asthe library direc-tor, as a profes-sor of theology

and as the bookstore man-ager. His last day as RedWing Public Library direc-tor will be March 16. After going to school inCalifornia to receive hismaster’s in theology, hedecided to pursue a careeras a library at the Univer-

sity of Wisconsin-Madi-son. After graduating, hemoved back to Californiato work at the seminary asthe library director and asan assistant professor,only to return to the Mid-west . He said if he did not feelso called to this new posi-tion, he would want to re-tire at the Red WingPublic Library because hehas enjoyed the experi-ence so much. “The five years I havehad in Red Wing havebeen the most enjoyable,rewarding and produc-tive,” Lund said.

Lund

Cannon Fallsstudents must find$35,000 to showtheir constitutionalknow-how

By Sarah Gorvinsgorvin@republican-eagle.com

CANNON FALLS — Itsounds like the premise for agame show: know all you canabout the Constitution and Billof Rights, be prepared to answerquestions about the U.S. gov-ernment and how it works, don’tbe intimidated by the stateSupreme Court justices who are

judging you — or by the othernationally ranked teams com-peting against you. And, on top of all that, alsoraise $35,000. But that’s exactly what Can-non Falls High School’s We thePeople team faces. And teammembers only have until Aprilto do so. “We have to raise a lot,” stu-dent Shannon Phelps said. We the People is a nationallyrecognized program sponsoredby the Center for Civic Educa-tion. Its purpose is to teach peo-ple about the Constitution andget them interested in partici-pating in government. Competitions are held eachyear at state levels. Winners are

then invited to compete at inWashington, D.C. The Cannon Falls We the Peo-ple team — made up of 23 ad-vanced-placement governmentstudents — competed againstother Minnesota teams at thestate Capitol in St. Paul in earlyDecember. Their efforts thereearned them a spot at the na-tional competition. “We worked really hard be-fore it,” student Phelps said.“We worked really hard.” Students from Cannon Fallshave competed in the nationalWe the People competition foryears. Previously, federal andstate grants have just about

We the People … we the fundraisers

Sarah Gorvin/Republican Eagle

Cannon Falls We thePeople team memberJoseph Hanka bagsgroceries atEconoFoods inCannon Falls. Theteam — made up of 23advanced-placementgovernment students— is working to raise$35,000 to attend thenational We thePeople competition inWashington, D.C.Turn to PEOPLE, page 12A

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Rebecca Rudolph/Republican EaglePhil and Linda McNairy work on his cardiorehabilitation at Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing.

McNairys take heartCommunitypreparednesssaves life,promptingcouple to startAED fund drive

By Rebecca Rudolphrrudolph@republican-eagle.com

On Jan. 16, Phil Mc-Nairy was enacting hisusual workout at the RedWing YMCA. The retireesaid he monitors his dietand was well aware of theimportance of good health. So he didn’t expect any-thing was wrong as hestepped off the elliptical.But unlike every otherday he worked out, he fell. “I thought he just losthis balance,” said his wifewho was working out aswell. That was until he didnot respond to physicalprompting to get up. “For all I knew, he wastotally dead,” she said.She yelled for help and theresponse was instant. “An off-duty nursejumped in and helped toprovide CPR, a retired po-lice man helped out withCPR, a Mayo employeewho was working here atthe time jumped in andhelped, YMCA staffjumped in and helped. Itwas a community re-sponse,” YMCA ExecutiveDirector Mike Melstadsaid. That response includedpolice officers who heardabout the emergency ontheir scanners and cameto see if more help wasneeded. It included multi-ple 911 calls.

Three key minutes About three minutes

after he went into cardiacarrest, a community mem-ber certified in using an

AED device shocked Mc-Nairy back to life. “Time is muscle,” MayoClinic’s Emergency De-partment and UrgentCare Director JaneGisslen said. McNairycould have suffered braindamage had the device notbeen used in time. Emergency vehicles ar-rived to find him coherent.He was transported toMayo Clinic Health Sys-tem in Red Wing. For Gisslen, the mo-ment she heard aboutwhat had happened, shestarted coordinating carewith the St. Marys Hospi-tal, where she in turnwould send McNairy. Paramedics drove Mc-Nairy to Rochester wherehe was told that he wouldhave to get a triple bypasssurgery to remove the clotthat had formed, resultingin his cardiac arrest. “I knew if they weregoing to do that, theywould crack my chestcompletely open, whichthey did, and then theyautomatically connect youup to a heart and lung ma-chine so nothing inside mewas functioning; it was alldone by machine. That’s ascary thought,” McNairysaid.

Five days after he col-lapsed at the gym, Mc-Nairy entered a roughlyeight-hour surgery. Hewas back on his feet by thenext day, healing well. Linda McNairy is grate-ful. She also grateful forthe support she receivedfrom the community theday he collapsed. “I had somebody driveme here to the ER becauseobviously I wasn’t in anyshape to drive my car atthat point, just a lot ofcommunity concern andsupport — that’s impor-tant,” she said. “Phil’s wife nearly losther husband,” Gisslensaid. During the minutes Philwas on the YMCA floor,Linda McNairy thoughtshe had. “If it hadn’t been forthose two things, peoplereacting quickly and thatAED being there, I wouldprobably be dead or se-verely brain damaged.Timing is everything,”Phil McNairy said. The collapse surprisedthe McNairys as Philwould not be a normalcandidate for a cardiac ar-rest. A normal candidatefor this event would besomeone who does not ex-

ercise regularly and has apoor diet. Phil’s circum-stance was a result of ge-netics, not lifestyle.

AED fund drive As a result of this sober-ing experience, the twoare working with Melstadto collect money at the Yto help churches and busi-nesses — “where there area lot of people gathered atany one point in time,”Linda McNairy said —purchase AEDs. If they are purchased inbulk, the prices can be re-duced, making these ex-pensive devices moreaffordable. Of equal importance topurchasing devices is thetraining to use them, thecouple said. “It isn’t a matter of itsomething’s going to hap-pen — we’re all humanand were all going to die -so it’s a matter of whensomething happens,” Mel-stad said, stressing theimportance of CPR, AEDand first aid training.“You have to think about,‘Do I want to be one of thepeople standing on thesidelines not knowingwhat to do, or do I want toknow what to do and beable to help?’”

GOVERNMENTCALENDAR

Minnesota IndustrialSand Council. “They takegreat pride in their rela-tionships with the commu-nities that they are doingbusiness in.” Egan, also Red Wingmayor, said the group is try-ing to find its way in newterritory as the industry ispulled into the spotlight. The mining councilmembers, now six Min-nesota-based companies,are predominantly fromsouth-central cities suchas Mankato, Shakopee,Jordan, North Branch andSt. Peter. They will advo-cate for “best practices”management of dust con-trol, transportation, wateruse and other issues thataffect their industry. Egan’s involvement inthe sand council hasdrawn attention since fracsand mining has been anissue in the Red Wingarea. Some residents havecalled for his resignation,but he has said there is noconflict of interest in hold-ing both positions.

Local, state roles Individual counties andcities, especially in south-eastern Minnesota, haveestablished their ownmoratoriums in order tostudy the issue and set uplocal rules and regulationsfor mines. King said he thinks thebest system would be localgovernments continuingto issue permits and theMinnesota Pollution Con-trol Agency managing pol-lution matters. “Local governments can’tbe expected to take thaton,” King said, referring topollution monitoring. Rep. Denny McNamara,R-Hastings, said he seesthe state’s role as facilita-tor, to make sure local gov-

e r n m e n t shave the re-sources toregulate theindustry. “I thinkmaybe wecan play arole to makesure theyare aware ofwhat options they have,”McNamara said, notingthe state could offer modelordinances. “I see one communityafter another strugglewith making sound ordi-nances and permitting de-cisions,” Schmit said. “Atthe end of the day, wewant to empower our localdecision-makers to makechoices they feel goodabout.” McNamara said he doesnot necessarily see theneed for more state regu-lations or a statewidemoratorium, but will re-main open during discus-sions. He said one itemthe state could study istaxes and fees on the in-dustry. “We need to make surethey are paying ade-quately … so local govern-ments don’t get stuck withthe costs,” McNamarasaid, such as for buildingor repairing roads orrestoring land after minesclose. King said the processfor getting the state totake action likely will besimilar to how moratori-ums and studies in localgovernments happened. “At the county level andat the city level it was re-ally grassroots folks whopushed for what wasneeded, and got it in manycases,” he said. “I thinkthat’s how it’s going tohave to be at the Capitolthis year.”

u SAND Continued from page 1A

Monday Presidents Day. Govern-ment offices closed.

Tuesday Goodhue CountyEconomic Develop-ment Agency Board,8:15 a.m., GovernmentCenter Board Room. Goodhue CountyBoard, 9 a.m., Govern-ment Center boardroom. Goodhue CountyBoard/ManagementTeam workshop, 9:15a.m., Government Centerboardroom. Goodhue CountyHealth and HumanServices Board, 10:30a.m., Government Centerboard room. Sheldon TheatreBoard, 5:15 p.m., CityHall council chambers. Red Wing AdvisoryPlanning Commission,7 p.m., City Hall councilchambers. Red Wing SchoolBoard, 5:30 p.m., RedWing High School LittleTheater. Agenda: Special educa-tion update, seniority

lists, activities accountbalance update.

Wednesday Red Wing City Coun-cil Agenda Committee,8 a.m., City Hall councilchambers. Goodhue CountyMining Sub Committee,9 a.m., Government Cen-ter, IT conference room. Pierce County LandManagement Commit-tee, 6 p.m., Courthouseboardroom.

Thursday Pierce County High-way Committee, 8:30a.m., Highway office. Pierce County Boardof Health, 4 p.m., confer-ence room C. Red Wing HumanRights Commission, 7p.m., City Hall councilchambers. Highway 63 bridgeproject listening ses-sion, 3:30-5:30 p.m., RedWing Public Library. Residents will be able toask questions and speakone-on-one with membersof the bridge project team.

Red Wing Mayor Dennis Egan (left) stands with Phil and Linda McNairy at Mondaynight’s City Council meeting. Some of the people involved in saving Phil McNairy’slife were honored.

Danielle Killey/Republican Eagle

Schmit