(Radio Iowa) – The state’s “Mobile Workforce Center” is in Postville to help employees of the AgriStar meatpacking plant damaged by a massive fire that started early Tuesday. The company has not announced when or if the plant will reopen. A message on AgriStar’s Facebook page said the company is working closely with local, state, and federal officials to assess the situation and begin planning for the future. Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend says 40 AgriStar employees visited her agency’s mobile unit in Postville Wednesday, to file for unemployment.
At least a dozen fire departments fought the blaze fire at the Postville plant on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. AgriStar is Postville’s largest employer. The state’s Mobile Workforce Center was expected to reopen at the fairgrounds in Postville late Thursday morning. Townsend spoke with Radio Iowa late Wednesday, after the unit’s first day of operations in Postville.
Twenty-five AgriStar employees drove to the Iowa Workforce Development office in Decorah yesterday (Wednesday) to file claims for unemployment, but Townsend says they can do the same thing on the fairgrounds in Postville.
There was a fire at the Agri Star in May, but crews were able to contain the fire before it spread. The plant has produced uncooked kosher beef and poultry products and has employed around 350 people. The Allamakee County Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque have created a Postville Fire Community Support Fund to collect donations, with the money distributed as grants to non-profits and community organizations in Postville that are helping the plant’s employees and their families.
