The doors are open, but the Clayton County Courthouse in Elkader is closed today. An elevator motor in the courthouse building overheated sometime overnight and filled the building with smoke. The custodian who opened the facility in the morning discovered the smoke shortly after 6:30 this morning, and called the fire department. There was no fire, but the department used fans to air out the building.
As a result, officials decided to close the Clayton County Courthouse for the day. The doors were propped open and fans were left running to air out the courthouse. The clerk of court decided to move today’s scheduled court appearances across the street to the county supervisors office. A local resident noted there was a power surge in Elkader last night, but it could not be confirmed that that was the cause of the overheated elevator motor.