(Radio Iowa) -Pure Prairie Poultry (PPP) in Charles City is closing less than two years after they began operations. In a statement, George Piechel, one of the owners of the plant, said, “While we continue to explore options, including possible buyers for our operations, our efforts to restart the plant on a limited basis have proven unsuccessful. Without a viable operating plan, we are discontinuing operations at our Charles City production plant effective immediately.”

Plant employees were notified Wednesday afternoon their positions had been eliminated. Some 138 workers are out of jobs. P-P-P had sought to reorganize under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy with liabilities between 100 million dollars and 500 million owed to between 200 and 999 creditors, including over 500-thousand dollars to the City of Charles City.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has been granted an emergency court order to take immediate care, custody and control of approximately one-point-three million broiler chickens owned by Pure Prairie Poultry. The company notified state officials they were unable to purchase feed for the chickens on 14 Iowa farms the plant contracts with to grow broilers.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon reports there will be a countywide burn ban in Cass County effective at noon today (Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024) and until further notice. There are currently 27 active countywide burn bans in Iowa.

Harrison, Shelby, Audubon, Guthrie, Adair, Mills, Monona, Crawford, Carroll and Greene are other area counties with active burn bans in place.

Kennon says a burn ban does NOT prohibit the following:  supervised, controlled burn for which a permit has been issued by the fire chief of the fire district where the burn will take place, the use of outdoor fireplaces, barbecue grills, properly supervised landfills, or the burning of trash in incinerators or trash burners made of metal, concrete, masonry, or heavy one-inch wire mesh, with no openings greater than one square inch.

Please contact Mike Kennon (712-254-1500) or your local fire chief if you have further questions on the subject of open burning.

Iowa Code Section 100.40 Marshal may prohibit open burning on request.
1. The State Fire Marshal, during periods of extremely dry conditions or under other conditions when the state fire marshal finds open burning constitutes a danger to life or property, may prohibit open burning in an area of the state at the request of the chief of a local fire department, a city council or a board of supervisors and when an investigation supports the need for the prohibition. The State Fire Marshal shall implement the prohibition by issuing a proclamation to persons in the affected area. The chief of a local fire department, the city council or the board of supervisors that requested the prohibition may rescind the proclamation after notifying the state fire marshal of the intent to do so, when the chief, city council or board of supervisors finds that the conditions responsible for the issuance of the proclamation no longer exist.
2. Violation of a prohibition issued under this section is a simple misdemeanor.
3. A proclamation issued by the state fire marshal pursuant to this section shall not prohibit a supervised, controlled burn for which a permit has been issued by the fire chief of the fire district where the burn will take place, the use of outdoor fireplaces, barbecue grills, properly supervised landfills, or the burning of trash in incinerators or trash burners made of metal, concrete, masonry, or heavy one-inch wire mesh, with no openings greater than one square inch.