Premium Iowa Pork finalizes $14 million purchase of bankrupt Minnesota plant

Premium Iowa Pork has finalized its $14 million purchase of a Minnesota pork processing plant that closed earlier this month after filing for bankruptcy, idling its largely foreign workforce. HyLife Foods Windom closed the plant June 2, leaving about 1,000 workers without jobs. HyLife said in court documents that COVID-19-related disruptions and low pork prices, among other issues, resulted in two years of operating losses, prompting it to seek bankruptcy protection in April. HyLife placed the plant on the auction block and Premium Iowa Pork was the highest bidder. The family-owned Iowa company said the Windom plant fits with its processing plants in Hospers in northwest Iowa and Luverne in southwest Minnesota. Windom is about 90 miles from Hospers, where the company’s headquarters is located, and about 60 miles from Luverne.