Disastrous Fertilizer Spill in Iowa Kills 750,000 Missouri Fish

It's hard to fathom the numbers involved in this mess. A report says that there was a fertilizer spill that happened in Iowa that made it's way into a major river and resulted in the death of 750,000 Missouri fish.

I first saw this conversation on the Missouri sub-Reddit about a massive fish die off in Missouri that spanned 60 miles. Commenters pointed me to an article by the Missouri Independent explaining exactly what went wrong.

The story says the disaster began with a mechanical malfunction at NEW Cooperative in Red Oak, Iowa which led to fertilizer being spilled into the nearby East Nishnabotna River which is a tributary of the Missouri River.

The fertilizer allegedly made its way into the river which then flowed from Iowa through the northern part of Missouri killing every fish along the way over a 60 mile area.

The report says that this fertilizer spill also damaged Iowa wildlife killing snakes, frogs and fish over a 50 mile area there.

How can a spill like this even be possible? The story says that Missouri Department of Natural Resources officials have never seen such a huge fish die off that originated in another state.

The sad timing happened just days after a reported gasoline spill into the same Iowa river which did NOT result in a fish kill.

The report from the Missouri Independent says it originated the Iowa Capital Dispatch.