One of the most interesting panels at the 30th National Ethanol Conference was Back to the Beginning: Celebrating Our Roots where we heard from some of the pioneers who founded the modern-day ethanol industry.

From Dave VanderGriend, who founded the design-build firm ICM, Inc. in 1995, to board members of four of the nation’s oldest ethanol plants, they told the tales of triumph over adversity in the early years. Al-Corn Clean Fuel was founded in 1994, Dakota Ethanol in 1999, KAAPA Ethanol in 2001, and Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) in 2005, and all of the board members on the panel were with them from the start. Some of them, like Karol King with SIRE, go back to the earliest days of the 1970s and gasohol.

“I was in Iowa Corn Growers for several years when we worked to get the check off passed with the goal to promote ethanol fuel,” said King. That led to getting involved in the National Gasohol Commission to promote and study the use of gasohol, which had representation in the mid-70s from 26 states. “It was a short-lived group, but it served it’s purpose” working with the Carter administration and helping shape policies like the Energy Security Act of 1980.

Rod Jorgenson with Al-Corn Clean Fuels talked about the significance of the “Minnesota Model” in moving the ethanol industry forward in the ’90s. “The Minnesota Model was a private-public partnership with the goal to add value back to the farm and offer some economic stimulus for development in rural Minnesota,” said Jorgenson. That led to the farmer co-op model to get funding for plants to be built and become operational and, in return, the state would partner with the plant and provide a return on their investment per gallon of production.

Todd Brown with Dakota Ethanol says corn growers developed a plan to grow the industry in South Dakota. “They started a corn investment fund of a million dollars and what they were going to do was invest it in a company and once the plant got up and running, they asked for it back and took it to the next plant, and the next plant…and it turned out to be very successful.”

Listen to this fascinating walk down memory lane with:
Dave VanderGriend, CEO, ICM, Inc.
Karol King, Board Chairman, SIRE
Rodney Jorgenson, Board Member, Al-Corn Clean Fuel
Todd Brown, Board Member, Dakota Ethanol, LLC
Rod Gangwish, Board Member, KAAPA Ethanol Holdings LLC
Moderator: Geoff Cooper, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association
RFANEC Back to our Roots Panel (101:36)

Interview with Karol King, Board Chairman, SIRE
SIRE board chair Karol King (5:23)

2025 National Ethanol Conference Photos