On November 10, 2021, at approximately 1:15 a.m., the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding an empty hog barn that was on fire located at 31238 Riverview Road in Oak Township. This location is 2 miles northwest of the city of New Munich.
A Deputy arrived on scene and found a portion of the barn was on fire and flames were coming from the roof. The owner of the barn, Craig Viere, 48, New Munich, arrived on scene and notified deputies that the barn had been sprayed with formaldehyde on Monday, November 8th. Melrose Fire and Freeport Fire were able to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office.