The Great Sand Fracas of Ames County

In a quiet Wisconsin village, one ancient oak—and the battle to save it—may uproot everything.

When a powerful mining company sets its sights on Link Lake's community park, the village erupts in controversy. On one side: economic boosters promising jobs, revenue, and revitalization. On the other: a handful of fiercely devoted locals determined to protect the land, the past, and a towering 300-year-old bur oak known as the Trail Marker Tree.

Caught in the middle is Ambrose Adler, a reclusive farmer with a hidden past, watching his town fracture over the promise of frac sand profits. As the debate intensifies, national voices weigh in—including the enigmatic columnist Stony Field, whose presence could tip the scales. But as tensions mount and protest lines are drawn—sometimes literally—the question becomes: what's the true cost of progress?

The Great Sand Fracas is a timely and spirited novel about community, legacy, and resistance, where the soul of a small town rests in the roots of a single tree.