Old Shakopee Rocked by Explosion, Fire at Koda Energy Grain Elevator

Updated at 10:50 p.m.

Authorities are investigating an explosion and ensuing fire that rocked a renewable energy facility in downtown Shakopee on Thursday afternoon.

According to Shakopee Police and Scott County Spokesperson Lisa Kohner, no one was injured in the blast

"All are safe and all emergency protocols were followed to the letter," Kohner said. "Everything worked perfectly. This is an unfortunate but not tragic situation."

Kohner said the blast tore through two silos, which are operated by Koda Energy, a joint partnership of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Rahr Malting Company. The towers are part of a combined heat and power plant which burns agricultural byproducts and biomass fuels. Tower 1 stores rough materials used for energy production at the site, mostly byproducts of Rahr's brewing process like oat hulls and woodchips. 

Seven employees were present at the time. All were evacuated without injury.

The blast occurred just as the lunch rush at Sammy's Speed Dog was winding down, said Manager Tyler McCoy, who told Patch that the roads near the restaurant have been closed off.

"We barely heard it because it was on the other side of the plant. It reverberated towards Prior Lake," McCoy said around 1:30 p.m. "Down here just sounded like couple of trains running into each other. It's still billowing smoke though." 

On the other side of the Rahr facility, those at Scott County Mini Storage on the 200 block of Shumway Street heard a whistling noise shortly before the explosion said Kevin Hauerwas, general manager of the business.

"There was pretty much an aftershock that rattled everything for about two blocks. Then we looked out and there were flames coming out of (the silos)," Hauerwas told Patch.  

Authorities have not yet determined what caused the blast. The explosion damaged to two biomass fuel silos, their conveyor system, and the facility's truck unloading facility. However, the full extent of the damage will not be known until the smoldering fire is out and the investigation has concluded.

Meanwhile, a lockdown imposed on residents within a one-mile radius of Koda Energy and Rahr Malting has been lifted. As of 3 p.m. Shakopee residents may go outdoors again. The city of Shakopee reports that there are no air quality hazards following the explosion.

Most roads in the area are open as well, with the exception of Third Avenue between Shumway Street and Harrison Street. 

Fire containment was expected to continue through Thursday night, and possibly take several days, according to a release from Scott County at about 8 p.m. Shakopee firefighters will stay on the scene until "all of the potentially affected towers are fully cooled," with aid from Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Savage, and Minnetonka.

This is the second explosion at Koda in the last 12 months. A similar incident occurred at the plant in July of 2012.

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