Fire hits Stuart building

Fire raged through a block of downtown Stuart in southwest Iowa early this morning. The two-story building housed Slam’s Pizza restaurant, law offices, other businesses and several upstairs apartments. The fire began early today, before daylight. The building’s expected to be a total loss. France says from what he’s gathered, no one was hurt in the blaze.The biggest problem for firefighters was the cold as wind chill factors hovered between 20 and 30-degrees below zero. Fire departments from six surrounding communities turned out to help. Stuart schools delayed opening for two hours this morning due to the commotion nearby.