BARRON, Wis. – The Barron County Sheriff’s Department announced on their Facebook page Thursday morning that they are transitioning the Emergency Operations Center from a 24/7 reactive operation to “a more deliberate and methodical effort to progress the investigation.” The Sheriff’s Office says this transition is due to a declining number of tips. To date, authorities have received over 2,100…
PITTSBURGH (AP) — With two more funerals set for Thursday, the anti-Semitic truck driver accused of gunning down 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue pleaded not guilty to federal charges that could put him on death row. Robert Bowers, 46, was arraigned one day after a grand jury issued a 44-count indictment that charges him with murder, hate crimes, obstructing…
BARRON, Wis. – Prosecutors have charged a man with burglarizing a Wisconsin home where a couple was killed and their 13-year-old daughter went missing, but authorities say he’s not a suspect in the case. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald says 32-year-old Kyle Jaenke-Annis was arrested over the weekend at the home of James and Denise Closs. The couple was found…
HIBBING, Minn. – Chisholm city councilor Kevin Scaia who was found guilty of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct earlier this year received his sentencing Monday morning. Scaia was sentenced to 30 days in jail or NERCC or 60 days sentence to serve. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised probation. In July, jurors concluded that Scaia did in fact…
DULUTH, Minn. – A jury trial that was scheduled to begin today for a suspect in the death of a UMD student has now been moved to a court trial scheduled for next month. Noah King, 19, is charged with second degree murder, first degree attempted aggravated robbery and two counts of first degree murder with intent while committing a…
PITTSBURGH – A rabbi who helped alert authorities to the synagogue shooting that killed 11 people says it was because of recent security training that he had a cellphone on him and was able to make the call. Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life in Pittsburgh said Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he hadn’t always carried…
DULUTH, Minn – In May, a 71-year-old man ended up in the ICU with bleeding on the brain and a fractured skull following a beating from a younger passenger after the two were allegedly removed from a DTA bus. The victim told police the fight started after he told the man to stop swearing on the bus and that same…
CLOQUET, Minn. – A Cloquet man has been sentenced to 68 months in prison for first-degree sales of methamphetamine and second-degree sales of heroin. The Cloquet Police Department began a drug sales investigation in March on a male identified as 33-year-old Johnathon Maio. Officials say they believed Maio to be selling large amounts of meth and heroin in the Cloquet…
WASHINGTON -Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he doesn’t know why pipe bombs were sent to prominent Democrats and CNN but says a Florida man charged in the case “appears to be a partisan.” Sessions and other law enforcement officials are declining to speculate on whether the current divided political climate in America and President Donald Trump’s rhetoric emboldened the man….
DULUTH, Minn. – FOX 21 learned Thursday why an infant’s homicide investigation in Duluth was not made public until a request for an autopsy report was done by our station Wednesday. Police Chief Mike Tusken said there was no lack of transparency, but more of a breakdown in communication between his investigators and when the autopsy was finally completed by…
PROCTOR, Minn. – A street light has been stolen in Proctor. The light went missing sometime between September 27th and 28th. It was stacked on the ground with other lights at a construction site before it was set to be installed along sixth street in Proctor. Police tell us they aren’t sure why someone would take the light but that…
JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. (AP) — Multiple people were shot at a Kroger grocery store Wednesday on the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky, and one suspect was detained, police said. A dispatcher with the Jeffersontown Police Department who spoke to The Associated Press did not give details on the extent of the victims’ injuries and would not give his name. He also did…
DULUTH, Minn. – The Hibbing man found guilty of two counts of second-degree manslaughter for the death of his 11-month-old nephew was sentenced to 98 months in jail, but will get credit for 448 days for time served. Jesse Lee Bonacci-Koski, 26, left the infant boy home alone to buy controlled substances when a fire started in the house while he…
DULUTH, Minn. – The mother of a victim in a recent violent assault recorded on video outside Duluth East High School is speaking out and calling on people to stand up more against what she calls a growing problem of violence and bullies in schools. The assault happened Oct. 15, and now school officials and police are responding publicly after…
BARRON, Wis.-Volunteers have been walking through swamps, corn fields and woods in the search for clues that could lead authorities to a missing 13-year-old Wisconsin girl whose parents were killed. Hundreds of people took part in Tuesday’s expanded search for Jayme Closs, who has been missing since deputies responding to an Oct. 15 911 call found her parents dead in…
DULUTH, Minn. – A Duluth man accused of breaking into another man’s apartment and stabbing him more than a dozen times in January has plead guilty to first-degree assault. According to the criminal complaint, 23-year-old Willie Nicholson broke into the apartment of 20-year-old Benjamin VanDell to find a place to sleep before the attack unfolded. Nicholson began stabbing VanDell when…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Investigators searching for a Wisconsin girl whose parents were gunned down in their home are asking for help tracking down two vehicles. Authorities believe 13-year-old Jayme Closs was taken from her home near Barron on Oct. 15. Deputies found the home’s door kicked in and her parents shot to death. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said…
DULUTH, Minn.- After two tabled votes, and three community meetings involving the topic, the Duluth City Council voted 6 to 2 in favor of purchasing roughly $83,000 of riot gear for Police Officers. Counselors Gary Anderson and Joel Sipress voted against the purchase. Em Westerlund was out of town for work. Westerlund missed a city council meeting like no other….
(T’xer Zhon Kha/Herald-Times Reporter via AP)BARRON COUNTY, Wisc. – The Barron County Sheriff’s Department is once again requesting volunteers to assist in an expanded routine ground search for articles that may be related to the case of missing teenager Jayme Closs. According to the Sheriff’s Department Facebook page they are looking for 2,000 volunteers for a search on October 23….
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A small, rural community in western Wisconsin is planning a vigil for a missing 13-year-old girl whose parents were found shot to death in their home. A “Gathering of Hope” will take place Monday evening at Riverview Middle School in Barron for Jayme Closs, who hasn’t been seen since Oct. 15 . Deputies responding to a…
MADISON, Wis.-Dispatch logs show multiple shots were fired in the home of a northwestern Wisconsin girl who vanished after her parents were found dead inside the house. The Barron County Sheriff’s Department released dispatch logs Friday that indicate responding deputies found multiple rounds in the home and the door kicked in. The logs also indicate the initial 911 call that…
CLOQUET, Minn.-A man wanted by Cloquet police for allegedly breaking into an ATM Wednesday at the Northwoods Credit Union Arena was arrested in the early morning hours Thursday after turning himself in to Duluth police in a bizarre fashion. At 3:30 a.m. Thursday authorities say the suspect walked into a Duluth gas station, plopped some cash on the counter and…
GILBERT, Minn.-The Gilbert Police Department has arrested a 17-year-old boy, accusing him of starting three fires at the Gilbert Recycling Center over the last few days. After an investigation by authorities, the cause of the fire was determined to be arson. Damages are expected to exceed $10,000, according to a release from police. The city of Gilbert has temporarily closed…
DULUTH, Minn.- “…we stop being oppositional and look for ways to make our community safe.” The tired plea from one concerned citizen at a third community meeting discussing whether the Duluth Police Department should purchase new riot gear. The Citizens Review Board held its final community meeting about the proposed purchase of riot gear. The feedback along the way will…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Authorities say a missing Wisconsin girl’s parents were shot to death and they believe she was in the home at the time. Police have been searching for 13-year-old Jayme Closs since early Monday, when deputies responding to a 911 call from her home in Barron found her parents, James and Denise Closs, dead in the house….
SAWYER COUNTY, Wisc. – A high speed chase in Sawyer County resulted in a crash and a three hour standoff between a Sawyer County Deputy and a male suspect from Menomonie. The incident happened just before 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Town of Round Lake. The Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office says a Deputy tried to stop a vehicle on…
BARRON, Wis. (AP) -Authorities looking for a missing Wisconsin teenager whose parents were found dead in their home say a tip placing the girl’s whereabouts in Miami is not credible. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said during a Tuesday afternoon briefing that Miami police tweeted the information without consulting with Wisconsin investigators. Authorities have been searching for 13-year-old Jayme Closs…
BARRON, Wis. (AP) – Police say a girl resembling a missing, endangered Wisconsin teen has been spotted at a gas station in Florida. Authorities have been searching for 13-year-old Jayme Closs since early Monday when her parents were found dead in their home in Barron, in far western Wisconsin. Miami police say a witness reported seeing a girl fitting Jayme’s…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – New details have emerged in the ongoing investigation of an officer-involved shooting that took place in Superior on Oct. 5. According Police Chief Nicholas Alexander, body cam footage from the incident shows the 19-year-old theft suspect, Joshua Farmer, refusing to remove his hands from his pockets after multiple requests from law enforcement. Officers then asked Farmer if…
DULUTH, Minn.- The UMD Campus was alive Thursday night, with rallying cries against sexual assault and domestic violence, and in support of survivors, as a group Took Back the Night. The Kirby Ballroom abuzz with men, women and children gathered to work to end sexual and domestic violence, and reclaim the nighttime from fear and vulnerability. “I think it’s just…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- The Superior Police Department is launching a new pilot program, to give people battling drug addiction a choice over their fate. The “Pathways to Hope” program offers eligible offenders a choice of going to jail, or going through rehab for their addiction, with costs covered for the under-insured and the uninsured. Transportation will also be provided, to get…
SPOONER, Wisc – An update to a story we told you last month about a repeat violent sex offender released to live homeless in Spooner, Wisconsin after none of the local landlords would rent to him. The Washburn County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday the Wisconsin Department of Corrections has found a place for 55-year-old William Baugh to live, as he…
DULUTH, Minn. – A new bill is awaiting the President’s signature that would help local law enforcement fight the opioid epidemic. It’s called the Synthetic Abuse and Labeling of Toxic Substances (SALTS) Act. It passed the senate last week. The bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (DFL-Minn.) would allow law enforcement to pursue drug charges even if the specific…
DULUTH, Minn. – Aaron Humphreys was sentenced Friday morning to five years in jail for charges of fifth degree assault and illegal possession of a firearm. Humphreys, 44, had been on trial a total of three times for the death of 47-year-old Eric Wayne Burns who was shot outside of Duluth’s Bedrock Bar in October of 2016. He will get…
DULUTH, Minn. – Former Duluth Middle School teacher, Karla Winterfeld, appeared back in court Friday morning to enter her plea to charges of first degree criminal sexual conduct. Winterfeld, 33, pleaded guilty to the charges and is facing up to 30 years in jail and/or a fine of $40,000. Winterfeld admitted to having sex with her 15-year-old foster son and…
SUPERIOR,Wis.- Christmas came early for the Superior Police Department, as they just received a new utility task vehicle, or UTV. This is the same UTV used by the Duluth Police Department for President Trump’s visit, and now it has been passed on over the bridge. The UTV is more versatile, more compact, and more agile than a squad car. It…
(Davis County Sheriff’s Office via AP) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah Navy veteran confessed to sending four envelopes containing the substance from which ricin is derived to President Donald Trump and members of his administration, authorities said in court documents. William Clyde Allen III, 39, made the confession while speaking with investigators after his arrest at his house…
DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth police responded to a report of a stabbing Wednesday night in the 2300 Block of West 6th Street. Upon arrival at the residence, officers identified two male stabbing victims — who are brothers — who reported being stabbed by an unknown assailant and were uncooperative when asked for more information. Both victims were transported to a…
DULUTH, Minn. – A suspect being charged with first degree murder in connection with the death of a UMD student will have his trial moved to a courtroom in Brainerd rather than in Duluth. The trial for 23-year-old Deandre Davenport who is accused of shooting and killing William Grahek will begin December 4th. Two suspects in the case have already…
ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) – Court documents say a St. Cloud man accused of killing a woman he met at a wedding told investigators God told him he needed to kill someone and that he would be able to resurrect that person. Thirty-eight-year-old Daniel Kenning is charged with second-degree intentional murder in the death of 45-year-old Jennifer Lee Moy of…
DULUTH, Minn. — Students at the College of St. Scholastica are on alert after reports of a “Peeping Tom” on campus. A spokesperson for the college told FOX 21 Tuesday that there were two recent incidents where a man was seen peeking into first-floor windows of dorm rooms in the student residence hall. One student reported she was sleeping when…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- A very quick but very productive City Council meeting took place Tuesday night. An ordinance was unanimously passed decriminalizing marijuana possession in small amounts, to avoid a life–long mark on one’s record. Previously, anyone found with any amount of marijuana would be arrested, and charged with a misdemeanor, or even a felony. But now in the City of Superior,…
DULUTH, Minn. – Joshua Leigh Miller, 25, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for the attempted murder of a 34-year-old woman last July. Miller shot the woman in a Lincoln Park neighborhood on July 9, 2017 telling authorities he believed the woman shorted him in a drug deal that happened the previous day. Miller was found guilty of…
WEST DULUTH, Minn.- Minnesota took ride alongs to a different level Friday, as anyone who wished to accompany officers could do so, via Twitter. The idea started at the West Duluth Police Department, but agencies participated from Ely to New Ulm, and many in between, using the #MNCopsVRA. Officers say it’s the perfect way to shed light on police activity, which…
(Michael Vosburg /The Forum via AP, Pool) FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota man was acquitted Friday of helping to kill a pregnant neighbor by tightening a rope around the woman’s neck after his girlfriend cut the baby from her womb. William Hoehn, 33, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the August 2017 death of 22-year-old Savanna…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A former nurse accused of injuring several newborns at a Wisconsin hospital has been charged with child abuse. A criminal complaint filed in Dane County charges 43-year-old Christopher Kaphaem with 19 felonies relating to the infants’ injuries. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says five infants suffered serious injuries in the newborn unit at UnityPoint…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911 is set to go on trial April 1. A judge on Thursday found probable cause for a criminal case to proceed against Mohamed Noor. He is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond….
DULUTH, Minn.- John Howe is a former mayor of Red Wing and a former Republican State Senator. He interned at a prison in Red Wing while in college. At just 20 years old, he said his experience left a huge impact on how he views the correctional system. Then the Corrections Officer was murdered at Minnesota Correctional Facility last month…
WINONA, Minn. (AP) – A Winona school janitor has been charged with possessing child pornography. Winona County sheriff officials say deputies worked with local police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to carry out a search warrant at Todd Schwanke’s house this week. KTTC-TV reports the 56-year-old Schwanke was arrested as part of an ongoing Internet Crimes Against Children…
RUSK COUNTY, Wisc. – The 45-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a Rusk County Deputy in 2016 has been found guilty of first degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon among other charges. Following jury deliberations on Tuesday, Doug Nitek was also found guilty of two counts of criminal damage to property and one count each of possession of marijuana,…
