(Spirit Lake)– A local grain elevator is changing hands and will eventually be closed.
Developer John Brown of Spirit Lake says he’s purchased the Farmer’s Co-op Elevator in Spirit Lake from the Farmer’s Cooperative Association based in Jackson, Minnesota. Brown says it will help facilitate the relocation of Ferguson Manufacturing, which will be going in just west of the elevator on Memphis Avenue. He says they approached the elevator board requesting easements on the elevator property for access for trucks that will be going in and out of Ferguson Manufacturing. Instead of easements, Brown says the cooperative’s board of directors opted to sell the elevator at its appraised value.
Brown says so far as he knows the co-op has no plans to relocate the elevator elsewhere. He says the elevator will still be in operation this fall to honor some contracts for local delivery of grain. After that he says the existing structures will be demolished and the grain handling equipment will be liquidated.
