Compiled by LAURENDONOVAN

Bismarck Tribune

The historic Corson County Courthouse in McIntosh, S.D., burned to the ground Sunday night, April 9.

By Monday, the county was scrambling to relocate county officials to other buildings and county officials were keeping their fingers crossed that the contents of the county vault withstood the hot blaze.

Tuesday, the debris had cooled enough to allow workers to get to the five vaults in the old two-story white wood structure.

The contents of the vault were a little damp and little sooty, but otherwise county records were intact.

The county had just purchased new electronic voting machines. Those, too, were stored in the vault and appear to have emerged undamaged. They'll have to be tested before they're used in the June primary election.

The fire was reported just after midnight by a neighbor who smelled smoke and looked out to see fire in the courthouse.

There was little firefighters could do, and the building was quickly engulfed in flames.

County officials were relocated to the community fire hall and to the jail, and services like computers and telephones were being wired in during the week.

It's not clear how the fire started, but there's some thought that the electrical wiring, which has handled a growing load of computers and other equipment over the years, may have failed.

The county expected to get back to business Monday.

In the meantime, the county hopes anyone with pictures of the historic structure will bring them so the county can show the building's condition to the insurance carrier.

- News-Messenger

Going … going …

It's time to sell the Garrison water treatment plant.

Shannon Jeffers, a Garrison alderman who's been on top of the water plant problems for more than two years, said it's time to sell the plant, not for the first time.

A rural water consortium and a Garrison rural water group have expressed interest in buying the troubled facility.

Jeffers said the plant is facing mounting problems with its intake system and inefficient treatment, along with the need for additional storage.

"We have no choice," he said, "We cannot stay in the water plant business. It is in everybody's best interest to get out."

Jeffers also said the city's contract with the Garrison Rural Water Association isn't working and should be thrown out. He said rural waters use about 20 percent of the plant's capacity and get a disproportionate benefit under contract terms.

Other aldermen agreed.

"We are being held ransom by the plant," said alderman Chad Rensch.

The city has retained Bartlett and West Engineering of Bismarck to help it sell the plant.

"I want what's best for Garrison," said Jeffers. "If it's with Garrison Rural Water, great. If it is with someone else, so be it."

- McLean County Independent

Bring on Cenex

Stockholders of the Strasburg Farmers Elevator voted to sell the elevator to Northern Plains Cooperative of Gettysburg, S.D., which is a Cenex Harvest States operation.

The sale price is $655,000, plus inventory.

There were 250 stockholders eligible to vote on the matter, but 84 in favor of a sale and 18 against it decided the vote.

The stockholders will maintain ownership of the Farmers Lumber and the Ampride convenience store, both still owned by the Strasburg farmers' co-op.

The sale of those is coming, but manager Tom Boecka said some financial and legal issues must be finalized first.

Boecka said the elevator has lost money in recent years because of changes in farming practices.

The Gettysburg operation has a 100-car loading facility, which gets a better railroad freight rate than Strasburg can offer.

At risk for continued losses was $14,000 in farmer-owned stock, $195,000 in preferred stock and $1.2 million in deferred patronage dividends.

- Emmons County Record