A three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals has upheld Winona County’s ban on frac sand mining and says the company that sued does *not* have a legal right to compensation — but there could be an appeal. The ruling was a split decision, with the majority opinion stating that the Winona County ordinance is not unconstitutional because “it even-handedly bans both in-state and out-of-state interests from mining all silica sand in Winona County.” But Appeals Court Judge Matthew Johnson wrote in a dissenting opinion that “the county’s zoning ordinance effectively allows the mining of silica sand for some uses, which are common in the Winona County area, but prohibits the mining of silica sand for other uses, which occur solely outside the state of Minnesota.” Officials with sand-mining company Minnesota Sands say they’re considering options which could include an appeal. In 2016 Winona County was the first in Minnesota to enact a ban on frac sand mining.