To keep up to date with this breakdown of news in the United States and Canada, visit www.AggMan.com for daily updates.

Alabama

Vulcan Materials Co. named John McPherson as its senior vice president of strategy and business development. According to a company press release, McPherson was hired from international management firm McKinsey & Co., where he served as a senior partner in charge of human capital practice.

Arizona

El Mirage dropped a controversial proposal to annex mining property owned by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, The Arizona Republic reports. The city’s proposal raised the ire of neighboring Youngstown leaders, who threatened to sue. Under state mining laws, neither city has the regulatory ability to stop mining on the site, where such activities have taken place for decades. El Mirage Mayor Lana Mook told the newspaper that annexation would allow some control over operations and that some control (from one of the neighboring communities) was better than no control. City Council members canceled the meeting when the vote was to take place and allowed the proposal to expire.

California

Want to know how much concrete is needed for a job? There’s an app for that. Graniterock Co. recently released an updated version of a free iPhone application to help construction workers estimate the amount of materials needed for their projects. “We are a brick and mortar industry and maybe a little slow to adapt to new things,” company spokesman Keith Severson told the Monterey County Herald. But, he added, “We’re not old in spirit.” The original app was released in the spring; the new version boasts upgraded graphics. An Android version of the app is expected to be available soon.

Illinois

Meyer Material Co. recently filed a petition with the village of Cary seeking a four-year extension to its 2008 contract with the village. The Northwest Herald reports that the company agreed to pay the village $6.25 million over a 10-year window in exchange for permission to move its gravel pit beyond the Algonquin border. The company said that stagnant sales of sand and gravel would prohibit it from completing extraction, reclamation, and conveyance of the lands in a timely manner. Under the 2008 agreement, the company would owe the village $100,000 for every month it goes past the deadline. At Aggregates Manager press time, the village had not responded to the request.

Illinois

The North Aurora Village Board unanimously rejected Lafarge North America’s request to extend its aggregate mine beneath two 200-foot-wide electrical utility rights of way. According to The Beacon News, homeowners have complained about mine blasts shaking their houses and cracking their walls and foundation, however, Lafarge attorney Bruce Goldsmith told trustees that the mine has never violated village or federal limits on noise levels or vibrations from underground blasting. He noted that blasts near a 30-inch-wide natural gas line running through the right of way where the company hoped to mine would not damage the pipe, and local utility officials had approved the work, as long as they monitored vibration levels around the pipe using a seismograph. The attorney’s arguments did not persuade board members who rejected the proposal.

Iowa

The Telegraph-Herald reports the Prairie du Chien City Council voted 8-to-2 to greenlight an agreement that would allow Prairie Sand and Gravel Co. to build docks and boat slips along the river wall of St. Feriole Island. The docks will go up in 2012 on a one-year trial basis, with a number of conditions. The docks can’t be placed before May 1 and must be removed by Oct. 12. There can’t be any overnight docking, and the docks must be removed at the request of the city if the river level goes above 15.5 feet, a half-foot below flood stage. The company must also purchase a $1 million liability insurance policy.

Minnesota

By a slim 3-to-2 vote, a new gravel pit was permitted, and the expansion of an existing pit was granted. The Free Press reports that the two Mankato pits faced opposition from seven people who testified against the proposal, however owner/operator Pete Forrey prevailed in his effort to expand local aggregate supplies. The new mine is 38.86 acres and will be mined in 10-acre segments. The second site, at Hard Rock Quarry, received permission to expand the existing site by 18.25 acres.