ME FALL HOMENT E IMPROVin this issue
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Actor brings Mark Twain to life. See Thisweekend Page 12A
Thisweek Apple Valley-Rosemount SEPTEMBER 23, 2011
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VOLUME 32, NO. 30
NEWS OPINION SPORTS
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Pumped up about biofuel Idle 50-acre, half-million gallon storage site to be transformed into Rosemount Clean Energies by Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
A family-owned Stillwater company is undertaking a bold project to reclaim a former ammonia storage and distribution center in Rosemount and ride the wave of an alternative-energy future. The 52-year-old Yocum Oil Company Photo by Tad Johnson
One of the recognizable sites when driving on Highway 52 in Rosemount are the two “spheres� at the future home of Rosemount Clean Energies.
embarked on the reclamation project of a 50-acre site just east of Flint Hills Resources this year and expects to have Rosemount Clean Energies significantly operational in less than three months, according to Tim Yocum, one of the company’s principals and chief manager. With about a half-million barrels worth of storage capacity in several large tanks that have been idle for some time, Rosemount Clean Energies’ project is requiring long hours, technical expertise and patience for the five-year total build-out. When it is complete, the refinery that will focus on biofuel injection blending and other clean energy products will be the only one of its kind and scale in the Upper Midwest, according to the company. “Biofuels are here to stay,� said Yocum, who is president of the Minnesota Petroleum Marketers Association. “Canada just announced a 2 percent biodiesel requirement. Minnesota is going to 10 percent next spring. This new terminal will allow greater distribution of biofuels right where crops are grown and biofuels are produced. Combine this with our refineries’ ability to produce ultra-low sulfur diesel from North Dakota and Canadian crude, and we have opened a huge channel for energy independence through local supply.� The components in some of the fuels the company will supply include corn and switchgrass.
Alleged theft of freon from AC units linked to drug use by Andrew Miller THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
An Apple Valley man is accused of inhaling freon from his neighbors’ air-conditioning units to get high. Brentyn E. Krueger, 36, was charged with felony theft last week because the freon he allegedly inhaled cost nearly $1,800 to replace. Apple Valley police were alerted to the problem in November 2010 when a resident in the area of Floral Avenue and 129th Street reported a trespasser. According to the criminal complaint, when officers arrived just after 1 a.m. on Nov. 7 they found Krueger lodged between the AC unit and the house, unresponsive and apparently unconscious. When he
came to, Krueger admitted to police he’d been inhaling freon from the AC. The following evening, police received another report of trespassing in that neighborhood. Krueger was again present when police arrived, and he explained that, this time, after inhaling the freon he became confused and walked into the neighbor’s house, the complaint said. On Nov. 9, another neighbor reported that her AC unit wasn’t working properly, and that a few weeks earlier she’d found a man lying outside her house who had to be taken away by ambulance. A total of five residents reported loss of freon from their AC units. “He caused quite a bit of
damage,� said Apple Valley police Capt. Michael Marben. “The cost to replace the freon and repair the units was what put this at a felony level crime.� This type of crime is extremely rare, Marben added. To his knowledge, it’s the first case of this nature Apple Valley police have handled. Krueger was hospitalized on at least two occasions after huffing freon, according to the complaint. The National Institute on Drug Abuse lists freon among commonly abused inhalants, and that inhaling freon can cause liver damage, respiratory obstruction and death. Andrew Miller is at andrew. miller@ecm-inc.com.
Photo by Tad Johnson
Rosemount Clean Energies will be located across Highway 52 from Flint Hills Resources, seen in the distance. While the project intends to offer “green� energy, the work itself is “green.� Yocum said without a company like this coming in to reuse the existing tanks and infrastructure, the site might have needed significant remediation work to clean up contaminated areas. As a result of the sale, Yocum Oil and the previous owner are remediating any problem areas with direction from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The green-built, non-waste generating terminal site has the flexibility to receive and ship products in various ways – including rail cars, trucks, tanks and pipeline. Yocum said the company also will offer
an efficient mechanism to test biodiesel in the marketplace – something he said the local market previously lacked. A Yocum Oil spinoff, Command Labs, is where the testing technical expertise enters. Command Labs specializes in analyzing fuels and finding solutions to fuel problems encountered throughout the industry. “Initially, the industry struggled with the rollout of biodiesel,� Yocum said. “The ability of this terminal to customize products through injection blending ensures greater accuracy and a consistent product that takes the reliability question of fuel out of the equation.� See Biofuel, 14A
Focus on the flag
Photo submitted
Members of Apple Valley American Legion Post 1776 hoist a new flag in front of Westview Elementary on Sept. 21 in a rededication of the flagpole area outside the school. The Apple Valley Legion donated $1,000 to the school for a flagpole area upgrade. During the ceremony students listened to music from the fifth-grade brass section and sang the National Anthem.
Race for Hunger raises little money for food shelves Large overhead, lack of ticket sales cited as reasons behind losses by Aaron Vehling and Tad Johnson THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Local city officials and some media members racing cars against each other sounds like a fun way to raise money for local food shelves. But the Sept. 9 Race for Hunger at Raceway Park in Shakopee drew a small crowd and raised a small fraction of what attendees and participants anticipated. Rosemount Mayor Bill Droste, Apple Valley Council Member John Bergman, Eagan Council Member Meg Tilley, Lakeville Mayor Mark Bellows and Burnsville Council Member Dan Kealey participated in the event, which lost money for organizer, Click Club USA. Dennis Barlau, president of General 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000
Click Club USA, said that after the $10,000 to rent the race track and about $1,200 to print the tickets, about “$700 is as close as we can come� to donating to food shelves run by 360 Communities, Neighbors Inc. and the Emergency Foodshelf Network. The event sold 788 tickets, Barlau said, and, in a letter to Thisweek, he wrote that “$1.00 of each ticket sold will go to the designated food shelf organizations.� His company lost about $5,000 on the event, he said. “I would have been much better off handing them a check out of my pocket for $5,000,� Barlau said in an interview. It was not the first time the Race for Hunger was unable to distribute money to food shelves. A June race with Scott County mayors broke even, Barlau said, leaving nothing for the charitable cause. “We booked it on the night of Scott County graduation(s),� he said, “so everyone bought tickets
but no one showed up.� Barlau said that when participants signed up for the recent race with Dakota County officials, he told them that if each of the 20 city participants sold 100 tickets the event would raise $10,000 for the food shelves. “Our food shelves are in such bad shape,� he said. “I wanted to do something to help.� Mike Hellendrung, the general manager of Raceway Park, said the $10,000 cost Barlau paid was “for renting (for the event) and bringing out corporate sponsors to drive cars on different occasions.� “Corporate sponsors came out a couple days after the race night and drove cars,� he said.
Participants Barlau said much of the reason for the losses of the Sept. 9 race stems from circumstance. He said a couple of the participating mayors were involved in emergencies that kept them
from participating. He also said Lakeville Council Member Matt Little, who was originally supposed to represent Lakeville, pulled out at the last minute, and, therefore, Bellows did not have the time to sell 100 tickets. Barlau also said he got sick this year, which reduced his ability to market the events. Little withdrew from the race on Sept. 2, citing a scheduling conflict. Little, who helped start the Lakeville Resource Center food shelf in downtown Lakeville, recently decided to go public with what he said were his concerns about the event. “There was a lack of transparency,� he said. “I was actually pretty excited to race originally.� Little said there was no indication that Click Club USA was a for-profit company. So when he requested a receipt for his donations from Barlau, Little said he learned of the company’s status. He said in addition to the lack
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of disclosure about the fo rprofit nature of the organizer and his inability to acquire a receipt, he did not see any specific indication of where the money would go. “There were a lot of red flags,� he said. Burnsville City Council Member Dan Kealey raced in the Sept. 9 event. He said he had not heard any official word about total revenues or expenses. “I’m disappointed it didn’t draw enough people� to benefit See Race, 7A