Lopsided home a bizarre sight for North St. Paul neighbors

Not far from North St. Paul’s iconic giant snowman and next door to the Dairy Queen off Highway 36, some neighbors have a sight to see after a home tipped to its side.

Early Sunday morning, Laura, who lives a couple of houses down, heard a loud noise that she eventually learned was a home breaking through support braces and nearly collapsing. Almost a week later, the home on 16th Avenue East remains lopsided.  

“I feel bad for them. I feel horrible,” Laura said. “You know, this was their house they were [going to] live in.”

The North St. Paul Fire Department tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS a construction crew was working on building a new foundation at the home, adding that the crew was experienced and had proper permits. The fire department says nobody was inside the home when it happened, and no one was injured.

Fire officials also said they’re working with the home’s owner to address the next steps but expect the partially collapsed home to be completely torn down soon.

Onlookers and neighbors hope that’s the case.

“It’s an invitation for trouble at this point,” Cyndi Ludemann said as she drove by the home.

“A couple nights ago, we came after tee-ball practice to Dairy Queen, and we saw the house bent over, and [my reaction] was [that] it looks like a tornado hit just here in this yard,” Ludemann added.

The North St. Paul Fire Department says the exact cause of the partial collapse is still under investigation.