{"id":49206,"date":"2026-09-11T18:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T23:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=49206"},"modified":"2026-09-07T06:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T11:35:07","slug":"remer-heather-pero-faces-arson-charges-in-pub-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/remer-heather-pero-faces-arson-charges-in-pub-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Remer: Heather Pero Faces Arson Charges in Pub Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Remer: Heather Pero Faces Arson Charges in Pub Fire<\/h2>\n

REMER, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 Heather Joanne Pero faces two felony charges connected to the fire that destroyed The Pub.<\/p>\n

The Cass County case centers on the April 27, 2025, fire near Remer.<\/p>\n

Pero, 36, is charged in court file 11-CR-26-1266.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors charged her with aiding and abetting first-degree and second-degree arson.<\/p>\n

Early Morning Fire Destroyed The Pub<\/h2>\n

The complaint says emergency crews were called to The Pub around 5:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

The business was located at 6691 State Highway 200 near Remer.<\/p>\n

Firefighters arrived to find the building engulfed in flames.<\/p>\n

Pero and business owner Kory Wagner later spoke with investigators.<\/p>\n

Both acknowledged being at the business earlier that morning, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

They said they had stopped while returning from a casino near Walker.<\/p>\n

Investigators later examined surveillance video and cellphone location information.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege that evidence placed the couple near Remer shortly before the fire was reported.<\/p>\n

No law enforcement officer names are included in this report.<\/p>\n

Investigators Allege Fire Was Deliberately Set<\/h2>\n

The complaint describes several investigations into the fire’s origin.<\/p>\n

Investigators allegedly found two separate areas where the fire began.<\/p>\n

A private forensic investigation also reported evidence of an ignitable liquid.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Heather<\/div>\n

Heather Joanne Pero | Cass County Sheriff’s Office booking image<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The substance was described as consistent with petroleum-based fuels or similar fire-starting liquids.<\/p>\n

The report found no evidence of an electrical, mechanical, or natural cause.<\/p>\n

The complaint says investigators concluded the fire resulted from a deliberate human act.<\/p>\n

A separate State Fire Marshal investigation classified the blaze as incendiary.<\/p>\n

Employees Reported Earlier Comments<\/h2>\n

Several witnesses also described comments allegedly made before the fire.<\/p>\n

One worker told investigators Pero had repeatedly talked about wanting the business gone.<\/p>\n

Another witness alleged Pero offered $20,000 to have the building burned.<\/p>\n

That person told investigators the offer was rejected.<\/p>\n

Another employee reported being asked whether he would burn the business, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

Pero told investigators that earlier comments about the business burning were jokes.<\/p>\n

Financial Problems Cited in Complaint<\/h2>\n

The complaint also discusses financial problems involving The Pub.<\/p>\n

Witnesses reported missed payroll and other money problems.<\/p>\n

Investigators learned the property was covered by an insurance policy.<\/p>\n

The listed building coverage exceeded $700,000, according to court documents.<\/p>\n

Pero is not charged with insurance fraud in this complaint.<\/p>\n

Two Felony Arson Counts Filed<\/h2>\n

Count One cites Minnesota Statute 609.561<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The count alleges first-degree arson involving flammable material.<\/p>\n

A conviction can carry up to 20 years and a $20,000 fine.<\/p>\n

Count Two cites Minnesota Statute 609.562<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Second-degree arson can carry up to 10 years and a $20,000 fine.<\/p>\n

The aiding-and-abetting allegation also cites Minnesota Statute 609.05<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Charges Remain Allegations<\/h2>\n

The criminal complaint contains allegations that have not been proven in court.<\/p>\n

Pero is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n

Public court information is available through the Minnesota Judicial Branch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 TRF News. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heather Joanne Pero faces two felony arson charges tied to the 2025 fire that destroyed The Pub in Remer, according to Cass County court records.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[24585,1048,838,24582,23917,23926,23928,24584,16054,23919,24583,786],"class_list":["post-49206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-cass-county-arson","tag-cass-county-court","tag-first-degree-arson","tag-heather-joanne-pero","tag-heather-pero","tag-kory-wagner","tag-minnesota-arson-charges","tag-remer-arson","tag-remer-mn","tag-second-degree-arson","tag-the-pub-remer-fire","tag-trf-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49206"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49207,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49206\/revisions\/49207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}