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St. Croix County Sheriff’s deputy killed Saturday
Officials said 29-year-old deputy Kaitie Leising had been with the department since 2022. She was fatally shot responding to a call Saturday near Glenwood, WI.
GLENWOOD CITY, Wis. — Officials with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office have released the name of the deputy fatally shot by a suspect near Glenwood, Wisconsin Saturday night.
The department says 29-year-old Deputy Kaitie Leising was killed when she exchanged gunfire with a possibly impaired driver by the side of the road.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) first confirmed the incident Sunday morning, reporting that a deputy with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department was shot while they were responding to a call and later died at the hospital.
Leising was dispatched around 6:15 p.m. Saturday on reports of a potential drunk driver stuck in a ditch near Glenwood, Wisconsin. Upon arrival Deputy Leising located the driver of the vehicle and people in another vehicle that had stopped to help.
Officials say Leising requested that the individual, now identified as 34-year-old Jeremiah Johnson, take field sobriety tests before he returned to his vehicle.
According to officials, Johnson was evasive in responding to Leising’s requests, and after eight minutes of dialogue turned toward the deputy and shot her. After she was shot, the deputy fired her weapon three times. None of the bullets hit Johnson as he fled to a nearby wooded area, according to the DCI.
The incident was captured on body camera, according to a release.
Bystanders who had originally stopped to help the suspect jumped in to perform lifesaving measures on Leising before she was taken to a local hospital.
Additional law enforcement swarmed to the scene and began searching through the woods to find Johnson. Officials said about an hour after Deputy Leising had been shot an officer spotted Johnson, heard a gunshot and saw him fall to the ground. A handgun was found near him.
The DCI said no law enforcement discharged their firearms during the search for Johnson.
There is no further threat to the community, officials said.
The investigation will be led by the DCI with assistance from other law enforcement agencies and will turn its findings over to the St. Croix County District Attorney.
On Sunday, tributes from the community and other law enforcement agencies poured in.
“Our love and condolences go out to the family of Kaitie Leising and all those with whom she served,” said St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson in a released statement. “We, as a law enforcement family, will do everything possible to continue to provide support and comfort to her family. We will miss her infectious smile and personality. She will be missed by all she touched.”
Leising previously worked as a deputy in Pennington County, South Dakota. Her former boss paid tribute to the work she did, and the person she was.
“Kaitlin was an outstanding law enforcement officer, positively impacting many in our county.” Pennington County Sheriff Brian Mueller continued, “Most importantly, she was an outstanding human being.”
The Wisconsin Fraternal Order Police also reacted to the news of Deputy Leising’s death in the line of duty.
Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of another Wisconsin law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty tonight. The fourth this year, the third in less than a month. This has to stop! Rest easy hero, we have the watch from here. #EnoughIsEnough #Hero pic.twitter.com/LCPX6rQT8m
— Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police (@WIFOP) May 7, 2023
Other departments posted condolences online including the Minneapolis Police Department, which included pictures of the massive police procession that accompanied the deputy’s body as it was transported to the medical examiner’s office in St. Paul early on Sunday morning.
On Sunday afternoon, a law enforcement procession took Deputy Leising’s body from the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office to O’Connell Family Funeral Homes in Baldwin, Wisconsin.
A large crowd gathered on the 11th Street Bridge in Hudson to show their support for the fallen deputy and her fellow officers as the procession passed by.
“Sad, little heartbroken,” said Trina Hilke, who came out to the bridge over I-94 with her 8-year-old son, Micah. “My uncle, his godfather, is a police chief in Illinois and I just imagine any day something like this could happen to him.”
Kayla Raab of Hudson can relate. Her husband, Nate Raab, serves in the military and is a firefighter with the Hudson Fire Department. Sunday, fire trucks lined the bridge with American flags raised in the air.
“Anytime he puts on that uniform, you don’t know. It’s hard.” Kayla said.
The couple brought their kids out for the procession to take in what had happened. “It’s teaching them that this is important and we shouldn’t take this for granted,” Kayla said.
At the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office people stopped by all day to place flowers and other remembrances on Deputy Leising’s squad car.
“We’re a family,” said Mike Bondarenko, who spent 30 years with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office. “Even though I’ve been out of the family for a while, it’s still a family and we all love and support each other.”
As Hilke watched the procession go by with her son, she said did her best to explain why all the squads were there together. “Remember how we talked about the brotherhood? She had a lot of brothers and sisters.”
“Are these all of her siblings?” Micah asked.
“These are all of her police siblings. Her sheriff siblings,” she explained.
This is a developing story and KARE 11 will add more details as they are made available.
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Prosecutors charged 45-year-old Trevor Joseph Wunderlich with second-degree murder in the death of his 68-year-old mother, Charlene Gail Wunderlich.
HUGO, Minn. — The man who was the “person of interest” in the north metro search Monday night was charged Thursday morning in the murder of his mother.
Prosecutors charged 45-year-old Trevor Joseph Wunderlich with second-degree murder in the death of his 68-year-old mother, Charlene Gail Wunderlich.
According to court documents, Washington County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call from a home in the 15000 block of Ingersoll Ave. at approximately 5:55 p.m. on Sept. 16.
Dispatchers said they “could hear noises on the line consistent with an ongoing assault or struggle.”
When deputies arrived they found Charlene Gail Wunderlich on the kitchen floor severely injured, according to the criminal complaint. Deputies tried to “detain the defendant, but he ran into the basement of the home and fled out a rear door.”
Charlene Gail Wunderlich told the deputies that her son beat her before she lost consciousness. She was rushed to the hospital but died from her injuries.
Law enforcement agencies across the metro launched a manhunt for Wunderlich. Sheriff’s officials warned the public not to approach him as he was considered dangerous.
Just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, a resident in the 9800 block of 152nd St. N saw a man matching Wunderlich’s description in their trailer. KARE 11 spoke to the woman who owns the trailer, and she says her dogs were growling at the trailer, and when she opened the door Wunderlich was sleeping inside.
The woman said she screamed to her son who was working on the property to call 911. Her son had a brief conversation with Wunderlich and then Wunderlich ran down the road with no shoes to another property where, according to officials, police arrested him.
According to court documents, in 2021 Wunderlich was sentenced to 203 days in prison for violating a domestic abuse no-contact order. While serving that sentence, he was convicted of fourth-degree assault against a correctional officer.
The FDA recently approved the first pill to help symptoms of postpartum depression.
Having a baby is an exciting time in many parents’ lives. But for some parents, that excitement can come with postpartum depression and other emotions that can be difficult to talk about.
Dr. Lisa Saul, the national medical director of women’s health at UnitedHealthcare, visited KARE 11 News at Noon to share tips for parents and loved ones affected by postpartum depression.
First of all, what is it? The Mayo Clinic states that postpartum depression usually begins during or up to a year after a pregnancy. The symptoms include depressed mood, mood swings, crying excessively, difficulty bonding with the baby, withdrawing from friends and family, feelings of worthlessness, and additional symptoms.
The experience is more common than you might expect, as it affects up to 15% of people, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
In August, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first pill to treat postpartum depression. This medication may lessen symptoms.
Saul also recommended talking about your feelings to loved ones and healthcare providers for support.
August was a promising month for employers, as 14,400 jobs were added.
Minnesota employers logged a remarkable August as they recorded the largest monthly increase in jobs in two years, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
In August, employers added 14,400 jobs. Employment grew by 0.5% in the state, exceeding the national average of 0.1%, according to DEED’s release. Unemployment rates increased to 3.3%, which still is lower than the national rate of 4.2%.
“We added the most jobs in a single month in two years, reflecting employers’ ongoing appetite to hire more workers,” DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek said in a statement. “September is Workforce Development Month in Minnesota, offering a reminder of the initiatives underway to invest in our economic future by recruiting and retaining workers and making sure Minnesota is creating the jobs of the future right here at home.”
Leisure and Hospitality jobs saw the most growth in Minnesota in August, increasing by 1.6%. Education and Health Services and Professional and Business Services also saw notable increases.
As for wages, DEED reported that the average private sector hourly wage is $37.74, which is a 5.9% increase over this year.
“Wage growth has consistently outpaced inflation, which is a good thing as we work to attract and retain talented workers for our labor force,” said Labor Market Information Director Angelina Nguyen in a statement.
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