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Resident urges reversal of county decision to eliminate dust control on gravel roads
Summary
A resident told the Crow Wing County Board that removing dust control from gravel roads harms residents’ health, safety and road stability and asked the board to reconsider its earlier vote to end dust control treatment.
A resident who identified himself as Mr. Kron addressed the Crow Wing County Board during the open forum and asked commissioners to reverse a prior decision to end dust control treatments on county gravel roads.
Kron said he lives on a highly residential, roughly one‑mile gravel road and described frequent dust plumes that reduce visibility and cause residents, including children, to go indoors when cars pass. “When you have, a dust that's being stirred up in the air, humans are actually breathing that dust,” he said, adding that dust can include material spilled on roads over years.
He also addressed one of the county’s stated concerns — safety and environmental impacts of calcium chloride — and disputed that characterization: “Calcium chloride is… actually a pretty inert substance. In fact, sodium chloride, what they put down on the road for icing is much more corrosive and damaging to vehicles.” Kron asked the board to reconsider the vote that eliminated dust control on gravel roads and to look at other related public‑safety issues, including noise from Brainerd International Raceway.
Discussion vs. action
Kron’s remarks were part of the public comment/open forum; no board action or motion was recorded in response to his request during this meeting. The speaker asked the board to revisit the prior vote; the transcript contains no indication the board took immediate action.
Clarifying details
Kron described his street as “highly residential” and about a mile long, said short driveways increase dust impacts, and argued that dust contributes to visibility problems and vehicle and human health concerns. He referenced calcium chloride as the dust suppressant in question and contrasted it with road salt (sodium chloride) used for icing.
Ending
Kron closed by asking the board to reconsider dust control and to reexamine noise concerns at Brainerd International Raceway; the board proceeded to the agenda with no recorded motion on the dust control item during this meeting.
