Steele County Fair Barn Roof Collapses Under Heavy Snow

The roof on one of the cattle barns on the Steele County Fairgrounds collapsed early Wednesday from the weight of the snow that had accumulated on it. The roof fell in between about 5:30 and 7 am according to fair manager Scott Kozelka. The building is about 60 years old.

Kozelka said that he checks the grounds on a regular basis. He could tell when he drove toward in Wednesday morning something was wrong. There are a couple of cars and boats stored inside but doesn't believe there will be significant damage to them. He told KRFO radio that it was too early to tell how this will affect the Steele County Fair in August, "153 days away," he said Wednesday afternoon. He had just been on the phone with the insurance company.

No one was injured.

Back in January of 2010, a roof collapsed due to snow on a different cattle barn. That led to the construction of the Radel Pavilion. The barn that collapsed this week is just west of there. There is another old cattle barn next to the one that went down, but that one seems stable he said.

Kozelka said it is not a good time for something like this to happen but says the fair staff is a great team and they will pull things together.

In other news, a cattle barn at the state fairgrounds collapsed under heavy snow as well.