A GDF Enterprises building in Windom was damaged by fire Thursday evening, August 20th, with firefighters returning to the scene Friday morning to extinguish remaining hot spots. Windom Fire Chief Ben Derickson said firefighters were paged to the structure fire at 1755 First Avenue North at 5:17 p.m. The first truck arrived approximately three minutes later, with crews finding active fire in the attic and heavy smoke coming from the ridge and eaves of the building. Firefighters initially began an interior attack but were forced to pull out at approximately 5:40 p.m. after the interior ceiling collapsed. At approximately 6:03 p.m., a portion of the roof system also failed and collapsed. The Jackson Fire Department was called for mutual aid at 5:32 p.m., bringing its aerial truck to assist with an exterior attack. Derickson said firefighters were able to contain the fire to the attic area of the building. The building is owned by GDF Enterprises. The more than 11,000-square-foot industrial and warehouse property was purchased by GDF in November of 2025. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Derickson contacted the State Fire Marshal’s Office to assist with the investigation. Windom firefighters cleared the scene at approximately 8:25 Thursday evening. While crews were battling the fire, the department received another call at 6:33 p.m. for a fire alarm at Hillside Manor. Two assistant chiefs and four firefighters responded with a truck and determined the alarm was caused by a dirty smoke detector. The detector was cleaned and reinstalled before the crew returned to the structure fire. Firefighters were called back to the GDF building at 7:10 Friday morning after smoke was reported coming from the roof. Crews found several areas that were still smoldering, extinguished the hot spots and cleared the scene at approximately 9:05 a.m. Windom Ambulance provided rehabilitation assistance for firefighters during the fire. The Windom Police Department and Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control, the Jackson Fire Department provided its aerial truck, and the Windom Street Department provided barricades to keep people away from the fire scene.
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MN State Patrol reported on the 18th at approximately 6:41pm a 2015 Cascadia Semi was traveling westbound on I-84 when it left the roadway and rolled near milemarker 91 due to high winds and weather. The driver a 41-year-old male of Burnsville was transported to Sanford in Andrian with non-life threatening injuries. Outside Agenies assisting were Adrian Police Department, Adrian Fire and Ambulance, Nobles County Sheriff’ and MnDot. Another two vehicle accident occurred on I-90 near milemarker 26 resulting with one person transported to Sanford Worthington Medical Center. On the 22nd a 2013 GMC driven by a 42-year-old female from Fairmont and a 2003 Ford F250, driven by a 40-year-old male from Augusta WI were both traveling eastbound on interstate 90 when they collided at milemarker 26 everyone was wearing a seatbelt and roadconditions were reported as dry. Outside agencies were Nobles County Sheriff’s Office and Adrian Ambulance.
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The future of WindomNet remains unresolved following Mayor Hilary Mathis’ veto of Ordinance Number 211, which would have authorized the sale of WindomNet to Federated Broadband. The ordinance passed the Windom City Council Tuesday on a 3-to-2 vote before Mathis issued her veto Friday. The matter is slated to return to the City Council agenda at its September 1st meeting. Under the City Charter, four council votes would be needed to override the mayor’s veto. Until the council takes further action, the future of WindomNet remains undecided.
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Today’s meetings include:
- The Windom Area Health Governing Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the large conference room. The board will hear a presentation on Windom Area Health’s annual financial audit and review several hospital policies. Members will also consider medical staff credentialing, financial and statistical reports, educational assistance applications and personnel matters. Updates are also expected from hospital administration, the City of Windom, Sanford Health Network, the WAH Foundation and Auxiliary.
- The Windom Area School Board will meet tonight for a work session at 5:30pm in the Windom City Council Chambers. The board will hear an informational update from Nick Kulseth and Superintendent Jamie Frank on the wrestling program and its current space needs. The discussion will include a building available for rent that could provide the Windom-Mountain Lake Cobras with a dedicated wrestling space. Board members will also be asked to approve the wrestling pairing agreement between Windom, Mountain Lake, Mountain Lake Christian and Butterfield-Odin. Also on the agenda is approval of the annual volleyball and football coupon book fundraiser. Players will sell the books for $20 through August 28th. Following the meeting, School Board members will tour the Soaring Eagles Child Care Center. This meeting is open to the public or can be viewed on YouTube at Media SB22.
- Jeffers City Council meets at 7:00 p.m. at Jeffers City Hall.
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The Murray County Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, August 25th, at 8:30 a.m. at the Murray County Government Center. The board will hold a 9 a.m. public hearing on proposed ditch repairs for Judicial Ditch 14 and County Ditch 20. Other agenda items include discussion on a Lyon County Jail rate increase and future inmate housing, a proposed 2027 Fulda contract, a cooperative facility use agreement with the Murray Soil and Water Conservation District, and a Power On Midwest discussion. The meeting is open to the public and can also be viewed live through Zoom, with the link available on the Murray County website.
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The Cottonwood County Board of Commissioners will hold a Special Meeting on Tuesday August 25th at 9am in the Cottonwood County Courthouse to discuss the 2027 Budget.