Kruse museum building sells for nearly $1M

AUBURN, Ind. (AP/WANE) - The Dean Kruse Foundation auctioned off the building that was once supposed to be the Andy Granatelli museum on Sunday.

The building never actually housed the museum. When the building was finished in 2009, Granatelli decided to put the museum in Indianapolis instead.

The building sold for $995,000. That will help pay off the nearly $3 million the Kruse Foundation owes Farmers State Bank.

Buyer DeWayne Keiper of South Dakota tells WPTA-TV he has collector cars and memorabilia he plans to display at the museum and also use it as a sales showroom.

Money from the building's sale will go toward the $2.9 million the Kruse Foundation owes for what had been planned as a museum for the memorabilia of auto racing icon Andy Granatelli.

Kruse tells The Star of Auburn that he had hoped the building would sell for $1.5 million or more.

The National Military History Center was also in jeopardy if Kruse couldn't come up with the money to pay his debt. But, the bank said it reached an agreement with Kruse and the military museum will stay open.