Iverson Crossing area residents question after effects of blasting

Jill Meier

Journal editor

A midday blasting on March 24 at a nearby quarry owned by LG Everist had residents in the Iverson Crossing development and vicinity questioning if they had just experienced an earthquake.

When his children asked if it was an earthquake, “I couldn’t say, ‘no,’” said Curt Van Oort, who has made his home in the housing development for 20 years.

Van Oort described last week’s blasting as “more violent” than usual.

“Generally, we’ll feel it on a Friday afternoon when they blast, but it’s pretty short-lived,” he said. “Yesterday, it was definitely not short-lived.”

Following the blast, Van Oort said the Iverson Crossing neighborhood Facebook page “lit up” and he saw many of his neighbors were asking the same question: “Anybody else feel that?”

He said the after effects of a blast typically last one to seconds.

“This one seemed to last four to five seconds. It sounds like they blasted differently than they have in the past,” he said. “Usually they’re staggered, but this one, they let ‘er rip all at once.”

Van Oort emailed his concerns to the general county commission address, and Commissioner Jeff Barth was the first to respond to his concerns.

“The county takes it seriously and staff is looking in on this issue and trying to keep our pulse on the community over that way,” Barth said.

Rick Peterson, a spokesman for LG Everist, confirmed the company was blasting that day. He also said the company is cooperating with the Minnehaha County Commission and its planning and zoning department in follow-up to complaints from nearby property owners.

LG Everist is a rock mining company with multiple pits and quarries in the region. Late last year, the company purchased the quarry site from Myrl and Roy’s Paving.

Van Oort also contacted LG Everist. An employee told him they were blasting and gave him a number to lodge the complaint.

“They must be kind of used to it,” Van Oort said.

As of Thursday afternoon, Van Oort hadn’t gone through his home to survey the walls for cracks.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to find a few,” he said. 

Van Oort, who is working at home through the coronavirus pandemic, said he’s experienced the blasting in the summer months when he also works from home on Fridays.

“It wasn’t a big deal. You’d feel a tremor and hear it if the windows were open,” he said. “In this case, the whole house shook; it was a lot different.”

Van Oort estimates his home is three-fourths to a mile from the quarry site.

“I never would’ve suspected (it was the blasting) because they’re far enough away and over the years, it hasn’t been a big effect. This was the most intense in 20 years that I have felt by far,” he said. “Then I think of the homes that are closer to it, and I’ve got to believe they really felt it.”