Garnavillo Farmer Dies in Electrocution Accident

A Garnavillo farmer has died after being electrocuted while working in a cornfield last week.

The Clayton County Sheriff’s Office says on Sunday, June 2nd, deputies were called to the area of 19518 Highway 52 south of the Clayton County Fairgrounds for a report of an electrocution. Deputies arrived and found a man dead in a cornfield, with firefighters and medical personnel already on the scene.

The Sheriff’s Office says the man, 68-year old John Joseph Berns, had been spraying a cornfield when the boom from his tractor made contact with an overhead power line. He tried exiting the tractor and was electrocuted as a result. 

Berns’ son, who was there when the incident happened, tried performing life-saving measures.

Services for Berns were held Monday at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Garnavillo.