Starting early last week, booming and rumbling could be heard from the northwest side of Clarion. One simply had to take a drive down County K/Madison Ave to see where the commotion originated. A wrecking ball and various pieces of heavy equipment spoke to a big project at the Gold-Eagle Cooperative elevator right off the road. By mid-week, at least one building was rubble with more planned for demolition.
Gold-Eagle, which is based in Goldfield, merged with North Central Cooperative in 2019. The Clarion location was one of six that the merge brought into the Gold-Eagle family. The work being done at the Clarion location now is part of a larger plan, says Gold-Eagle General Manager Chris Boshart.
Boshart explained, “The work that is going on at our Clarion location is a result of many hours of discussion and planning by our board of directors and management staff over the last 18 months.” He went on to state that the company plans to invest in upgrades at the Clarion location as they look towards operations in the future.
“We are still finalizing the plans and working through the last details for a new grain elevator that would add new receiving and storage capacity,” added Boshart. “If everything comes together, this new facility will be north of town next to our existing fertilizer facility.”
With those plans simmering, Boshart said that the demolition of the old structures in town is necessary. “This was the best option both from a safety standpoint at the location and because we think that we will be able to recycle some of the old concrete and use it in the new facility to build a road base.”
In short, look for a lot of action on the northwest side of town in the months to come.
