A rural Des Moines County man was rescued Thursday after falling into a grain silo on his farm near Kingston.
Mediapolis Fire Chief Jeff Kerr said Thursday afternoon that 78-year-old Kenneth Klenk was almost completely sunk into the grain when Mediapolis rescue crews first arrived. Kerr says Klenk had his head tilted back above the grain and was “spitting corn out of his mouth” as rescue efforts began on Klenk’s farm near Highway 99 and 225th Street.
Crews utilized silo rescue tubes and cut holes in the side of the silo in order to empty it to expedite rescue efforts. They ended up lifting him out from a hole in the side of the silo. Kerr says it’s the first time the Mediapolis Fire Department has had to utilize the silo rescue tubes. He says it’s extremely fortunate that Klenk was able to survive, adding that silo efforts “Are usually recoveries, not rescues.”
Klenk was taken to Great River Medical Center in Burlington. He complained of chest pain, due to the pressure of the grain, but is expected to recover.
(By David Hightower, KBUR, Burlington)