Madelia

Financial help is on the way to a southwestern Minnesota town hit by a devastating fire last year.

Authorities have accused a man of interfering with efforts to fight a fire that destroyed eight buildings in the business district of the southern Minnesota town of Madelia.

Gov. Mark Dayton is meeting with business owners and city officials in Madelia where fire destroyed a good portion of its commercial district earlier this week. At a meeting Friday morning, Dayton gave out his home phone number to those gathered in the meeting room and promised executive action to help the community recover.

The state fire marshal's office says it is helping investigate the cause and origin of a fire that destroyed about a half-dozen buildings in downtown Madelia.