WINTER’S TOLL

The grasp of Old Man Winter is leaving its mark on the Steele County Fairgrounds in Owatonna. Last week the roof collapsed on one of the cattle barns from the weight of the snow.
The collapse took place between 5:30 p.m. March 19 and 7:30 a.m. the next day, according to Scott Kozelka, manager of the fair. He said everything was fine when he checked the barns as he left on Tuesday.
When Kozelka returned the next morning, it didn’t take long to see something wasn’t right. “I noticed something was weird coming from the west,” he said. The discovery of the collapse led to a stressful day for Kozelka.
“It’s never a good time,” he said. “We would rather of taken it down on our own.”
But Kozelka is relieved that no one was hurt and there was minimal damage to property inside.
The entire mid section of the roof caved in. “I think it’s a total loss,” Kozelka said, noting he was waiting for an official ruling from the insurance adjusters who were scheduled to survey the damage Monday morning.
Once the insurance company makes a determination, the fair board will meet to review its options, Kozelka said. “It will be up to the board on how to proceed,” he said.
This isn’t the first time the board has found itself in a similar situation. In 2010, the snow caused a roof to collapse on another livestock building. The fair ended up taking down another livestock building to make room for the new Radel Family Livestock Pavilion, which was dedicated on the opening day of the 2014 fair.
During the transition over four fairs, the fair utilized a tent to house animals during the fair.
The barn damaged last week was built with another barn next to it in 1958, Kozelka said. The collapsed barn houses open class and 4-H dairy during the fair.
Kozelka said the barn is used as storage during the off-season. There were two vehicles and a boat being stored when last week’s collapse happened. He said the boat was untouched and there was minimal damage to the vehicles. The fair has been in touch with the owners.
The manager said the fair is in no position to go without the barn. “We need it,” Kozelka said, adding they will take into account the fair’s long range plans when deciding what to do.
He is taking the collapse in stride. “It’s just one obstacle,” Kozelka said. “Unfortunately, things like this sometimes happen,” he added.
Kozelka said the fair has a great team in place to handle situations like this. “Once we hear from the insurance company, the board will put its heads together,” he said. “We are working every day to make our fair great.”
The fair has been focused on a major reconfiguration project with the removal of the race track since last fall. Kozelka said the setback with the barn collapse will not delay the reconfiguration.
“The fair will be amazing again this year,” Kozelka promised. “We are working hard to make it better than last year.”