Appeals Court: Whitehall Properly Annexed Land For Sand Mine

A state appeals court says Whitehall city officials properly annexed land for a sand mine.

The city council passed ordinances in 2015 annexing about 1,250 acres from the Town of Lincoln. Whitehall Sand and Rail LLC, which was interested in locating a sand mine within the city limits, selected the land for annexation.

The town filed a lawsuit challenging the annexation. Trempealeau County Circuit Judge Charles Feltes upheld the annexation because the territory was physically touching an existing city boundary.

The 3rd District Court of Appeals upheld that finding Tuesday, ruling the territory is of an “unexceptional shape” that doesn’t warrant further scrutiny.

The town’s attorney, Peter Reinhardt, didn’t immediately return a voicemail left at his office.