Across NW 70th Street, in a DuPont Pioneer soybean and corn field, an employee uncovered a different kind of crop that had likely been there since World War II.

Employees were forced to evacuate after an employee stumbled across an Mk 2 hand grenade, or pineapple grenade, in the field on the property Monday afternoon.

“They were tilling up a field out at Pioneer, and it just happened to pop up out of the ground,” said Johnston Police Sgt. Tyler Tompkins. “Luckily the guy saw it before he went back over it again.”

Employees were not allowed to return to the building until the grenade had been detonated.

“You have to take every precaution in situations like that,” Tompkins said.

Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said the grenade was a World War II-era weapon that had likely been left on the property for decades. The property was formerly part of the Camp Dodge training facility.

Des Moines Police Department’s bomb squad was called in by Johnston police to safely dispose of the grenade.

“They have some techniques and technology they use when they blow it up out there,” Parizek said. “Basically, what they do from a distance is shoot it.

Johnston residents said they were not too concerned about the potentially explosive situation.

“It’s old,” said Phil Samuelson, of Johnston. “It’s been there how long? And nothing’s happened yet.”

With the proximity of Camp Dodge, and an old ammunition plant near Ankeny, Samuelson said he would not be surprised if more explosives were unearthed in the future.

Iowa National Guard Public Affairs Officer Colonel Greg Hapgood told KCCI it is highly unlikely the grenade is connected to the Iowa National Guard.

Hapgood said the property south of NW 70th Street was never Camp Dodge property, and the Iowa National Guard never trained with live grenades.

The source of the grenade is unknown at this time.