SCANDINAVIA, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – A proposal for a mining project could make its way to the grounds of the Iola Car Show.
Back in October, executives from the show and Faulks Brothers Construction sent a letter to residents in Scandinavia. The letter had announced intentions to mine for sand and gravel from parking lots surrounding the car show’s main area, located just east of Waupaca County Road J.
The project would smoothen out those lots and the show would get an influx of funds from extracting the sand.
“It’s of utmost importance that we are turning over every stone, if you will, to see what’s out there and help us survive and thrive as a business for the good of everybody,” said Joe Opperman, the executive director of the Iola Car Show. “We’re not in a desperate situation, but we also don’t want to be in a desperate situation,” he added.
Plans are not official yet, but the proposal has drawn the ire of many neighbors, including Ambrosius.
Dozens of properties are near where the proposed mine would be, and people are concerned about construction noise at early hours of the day; current plans may have work done from 6am to 6pm weekdays.
Officials from Faulks Brothers Construction declined an interview, but Opperman says if approved, the construction process will be confined and minimal. There will be an informational meeting on this topic Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Scandinavia Municipal Center.
