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Early morning fire devastates downtown Gladbrook

An early morning fire Monday morning, December 5, destroyed the original Wentzien Hardware building, owned by Mike Wentzien, in downtown Gladbrook. The building was established in 1901. It has not been determined the cause of the fire. Gladbrook Fire Department was called out at approximately 2:00 a.m. Monday morning, area fire departments were called in as well for back-up. Smith’s General Store, owned by Dennis and Barb Smith of Gladbrook, to the west and the Masonic Lodge, to the east, both received extensive smoke and water damage.

Wednesday morning, December 7, an early morning fire was discovered in the Masonic Lodge. Local and area fire departments responded and put out the interior fire. Along with the fire, several downtown businesses were broke into in the early morning hours. Smith’s General Store, already ravaged by the smoke and water damage was looted. It appears that both the Masonic Lodge and Smith’s General Store may be total losses.

If anyone has any information about these break-ins, please contact the Tama Count Sheriff’s Office.