N.W. Iowa printing plant destroyed by fire

Jul 3, 2013

SHELDON, IA—An early morning fire June 4, ravaged White Wolf Web printing plant in Sheldon, IA. The facility is where The N’West Iowa REVIEW, The Sheldon Mail-Sun and more than 60 other publications are printed.

The Sheldon Fire Company was dispatched about 1:20 a.m. to the scene. Three other nearby community fire departments also were paged for mutual aid. No one was injured in the blaze.

Firefighters battled the fire throughout the night as flames continued to flare back up in the metal-frame and brick structure. Firefighters finally wrapped up their work shortly after noon.

Jeff Wagner, president of Iowa Information Publications, parent company of The N’West Iowa REVIEW and whose family began operations of White Wolf Web in 1996, said the building and its contents appeared to be totaled.

In the short term, Wagner said the plan is to have the family newspapers and other publications that White Wolf Web handles printed by other plants in the region. The family hopes to have the plant back in full operation by late fall.

Jeff’s father, Peter, said, “We will rebuild and hope to have part of the plant (the printing center) running within 60 days. It will take longer to rebuild the two buildings that housed the pre- and post- press operations.” The N’West Iowa REVIEW has won numerous awards at the state and national level.