An explosion was reported Monday afternoon at Little Sioux Corn Processors east of Marcus, prompting an emergency response in Cherokee County.
According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, dispatchers first received reports of a grain bin explosion at the facility shortly after 4:30 p.m. Officials initially described the incident as an active situation as emergency responders were dispatched.
Cherokee County Emergency Management later confirmed an explosion occurred at the ethanol production plant, and fire officials on scene identified it as a dust explosion involving a grain handling system.
Marcus Fire Assistant Chief Matt Dreckman described what crews encountered upon arrival.
“When we arrived, we had heavy smoke coming out of the grain leg, and that dust collector itself had some heavy smoke coming from it. Once we were able to open some access points and cool the system down, we did not have any more open flames. It was relatively minor once we got on scene and evaluated,” Dreckman said.
Officials said a dust collector was damaged in the incident. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
Emergency Management officials confirmed by about 5:20 p.m. that all personnel and contractors at the facility were accounted for, and the situation was under control.
Authorities reported no major injuries. However, one truck driver sustained minor injuries.
Little Sioux Corn Processors, founded in the early 2000s, produces approximately 170 million gallons of ethanol annually and is one of the region’s major agricultural processing facilities.
This story is courtesy of Media Partner KTIV
