County Building Finally Sold

After several years of trying to unload a building on Highway 19 in Cuba, Crawford County commissioners on June 13 closed the deal.

“It’s out of the county’s hands,” said Presiding Commissioner Steve Black on June 17.

The building was purchased in December 2020 as the future home of the county coroner.

The county bought the building for $149,000 and sold it for $100,000.

Often referred to as the Korte building, the property became more of a hot topic years after its purchase.

Some county residents used it to accuse commissioners of being fiscally irresponsible. District 2 Commissioner Jared Boast, who won reelection in 2024, was usually the target.

Boast defended the county’s purchase, along with its 2022 purchase of what is referred to as the Tutterow building. 

Plans to remodel the building for the coroner were scrapped about six weeks into Black’s tenure as presiding commissioner.

He sought out a better deal and found one in the former office of Three Rivers Publishing.

Commissioners approved the contract for the sale of the Korte building on May 13.

Boast said he was ready to let it go, while District 1 Commissioner Mark Pfeiffer said it would continue to deteriorate unless sold.

Pfeiffer entered office Jan. 1, 2025, more than four years after the county bought the building.