Two glass panels on Corn Palace balcony shatter

City officials are trying to determine what caused two glass panels on the Corn Palace balcony to shatter this morning. Corn Palace Director Scott Schmidt was in the box office around 10:30. “Heard a crash, walked outside and saw glass on the street,” said Schmidt.

He first thought it may have been vandalism, however, “It does look like the glass panels are actually uneven. So, water might be possibly getting under the seals, thawing and then expanding and actually causing the glass panels to lift and drop down and expand into one another,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt says he’ll contact the general contractors to decide next step whether it’s replacing the panels or looking at a different fixture on the outside of the balcony.

He says luckily no one was underneath the balcony when the panels shattered. 

J.P. Skelly