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Remembering fallen Fargo Officer Jake Wallin
“He was proud to serve in both the uniform of his country and his community,” said Jonathan Norling, who served in the military with Wallin.
ST MICHAEL, Minnesota — In his own words, Officer Jake Wallin said in a video released by the Fargo Police Department, “Throughout my entire life, I’ve always wanted to work in some sort of position that had purpose behind my job and a police officer is always what kind of came to me.”
Tributes are coming in for Officer Wallin. The St. Michael native was killed in the line of duty at the age of 23.
On Friday, a gunman killed Wallin and critically wounded Fargo police officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes. The suspect, 37-year-old Fargo resident Mohamad Barakat, was shot and killed by another officer. A 25-year-old woman was also seriously wounded in the shooting.
Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski said the officers were out investigating a “routine traffic accident” when Barakat opened fire. Chief Zibolski said it did not appear the suspect had been involved in the crash police were working on. You can read more about the investigation, here.
Referring to the video FPD posted, Jake’s father, Jeff Wallin, told KARE 11’s Kent Erdahl, “I don’t know what to say that he didn’t say perfectly himself in that video… That is exactly who he was.”
Wallin is a 2018 graduate of St. Michael-Albertville High School.
STMA Football released a statement saying, in part, “Jake played linebacker for the STMA Knights and was a hard worker that always brought a big smile. The Knights Football program would like to express our condolences to the Wallin family, friends, and communities that Jake was an important piece of and will be greatly missed.”
Jared Essler, a history teacher and head football coach at STMA, said Wallin played football for STMA for four years. Essler coached him on the varsity team for two years.
“I think we’re all kind of collectively grieving as a community,” Essler said.
Essler was visiting Fargo at the time of the shooting and later learned that Wallin was the one killed.
“I just always remember his smile. He genuinely enjoyed other people and being a part of the team,” Essler said. “You could just tell he’d be successful in any sort of career path that he went into.”
The Minnesota National Guard said Army Sgt. Wallin entered into service in Dec. 2017 as a cannon crewman before deploying to Afghanistan and Iraq from Nov. 1, 2020, to July 19, 2021, with the 1-194 Field Artillery Battalion. He was currently serving with the 151 Field Artillery Battalion.
“The citizen Soldiers and Airmen of the Minnesota National Guard extend our deepest condolences to the family members and friends of Sgt. Jake Wallin. His death is a loss to our military family as well. He lived a life of service- not only to his state and nation but his community. We are grateful for his commitment to others even in the face of danger,” said Army Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, the Guard’s adjutant general.
Jonathan Norling, who served in the military with Wallin, said, “He was one of the greatest soldiers that I have ever had the privilege to serve with. His personality, dedication, and motivation were contagious to those around him. His laughter and smile had the ability to brighten any situation. He was proud to serve in both the uniform of his country and his community. This is a tragic loss to his family, friends, brothers, and sisters both in the Army and in the Fargo PD. He will be missed, loved, and remembered by those who had the privilege of knowing him.”
Wallin was also a graduate of Alexandria Technical and Community College (ATCC) and an attendee of the American Military University.
“It’s a very tough time,” said Dr. Shawn Williams, associate dean of Educational Services at ATCC. Williams currently leads the law enforcement educational programming on campus. Williams confirmed that Wallin graduated from the two-year program in 2021. Dotas also graduated from the program in 2015.
While Williams does not personally know any of the officers involved, he called law enforcement a family and said, “I have spent a number of years in this profession myself. When this happens, you start thinking, ‘Why?’ You want to know why… but on the same token, you still remember that these gentlemen were there to serve and protect with courage. So you applaud that piece but you still think, ‘Why?'”
In the same video released by FPD, Officer Wallin said, “I don’t want to be sitting in the office wondering why I’m here every day. I want to be out. I want to be doing something that I can tell myself, at the end of the day, I made a difference somehow.”
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Wisconsin law enforcement said Katrina Baur, and her partner, Jesse Vang, are facing charges in connection with 3-year-old Elijah Vue’s death, including obstruction.
TWO RIVERS, Wis. — About a month after 3-year-old Elijah Vue’s remains were recovered from a private property in Wisconsin, state authorities announced Thursday that charges have been filed against the boy’s mother and her partner.
Wisconsin law enforcement said Katrina Baur, and her partner, Jesse Vang, are facing charges in connection with 3-year-old Elijah Vue’s death, including obstruction.
Vue went missing in February and it wasn’t until September that his body was recovered and identified.
Wadena-Deer Creek head coach Kyle Petermeier told families in a letter that a rash of injuries has reduced the roster to the point that playing is a “safety issue.”
WADENA, Minn. — A central Minnesota high school is pulling the plug on the remainder of its varsity football season, saying continuing to play would not be “safe or realistic.”
Wadena-Deer Creek head coach Kyle Petermeier sent a letter home to families earlier in the week, explaining the decision to skip the Wolverines’ final game and subsequent district playoffs. Petermeier said injuries began piling up as the club reached midseason, and roster numbers hit a dangerous low following Wadena-Deer Creek’s game in week 7.
Heading into the final regular season game against Staples-Motley, Wadena-Deer Creek had just eight healthy players from 10th to 12th grade. At that point, the coach said, a difficult but necessary decision had to be made in the interest of safety.
“We are in a position now where we would have to trot out a majority of our team that is 14 and 15 years old, and that is not in the best interest of our kids,” coach Petermeier explained. “To us, safety is ahead of any individual game result. Football is a physical sport and putting out a team of mostly 14-15 year olds vs. 17-18 year olds is not safe or realistic for our team, and even the opposing team playing. “
Before the decision to end their season, the Wolverines were 1-6 on the year, losing games by up to 50 points.
Coach Petermeier credited this year’s varsity squad for their preparation, training and effort, and told parents he believes the future of the Wadena-Deer Creek football program is bright with big participation numbers with players at the fifth- to ninth-grade levels.
“Football is a game that requires strength in numbers, and we will do anything we can to keep these numbers high and keep kids out for football,” he promised.
With a 17-member jury finally seated after an arduous selection process, the prosecution and defense on Thursday took the first step in building their cases.
MANKATO, Minn. — With an arduous jury selection process finally in the rearview mirror, both prosecutors and the defense began laying out their cases Thursday in the murder trial of Adam Fravel.
Fravel is charged with four felony counts – first-degree murder, first-degree premeditated murder, second-degree intentional murder, and second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony offense – in the death of 26-year-old Maddi Kingsbury, his live-in partner and mother of Favel’s two children.
Kingsbury was last seen dropping her young son and daughter off at daycare in Winona the morning of March 31, 2023. She was reported missing by family and friends later that day. Maddi’s decomposing remains were found south of Winona 68 days later. The medical examiner eventually concluded she died of homicidal violence, likely asphyxiation.
Opening statements began shortly after 9 a.m. in Blue Earth County District Court, chosen as the venue after Judge Nancy Buytendorp ruled Fravel’s trial should be moved from Winona County due to extensive pre-trial publicity.
The state was the first to address the jury panel, with prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz immediately painting a picture of Maddi as a successful career woman and mother who had become increasingly frustrated with Fravel and his inability to contribute as their seven-year relationship crumbled.
Prokopowicz told jurors that Kingsbury had met a man, Spencer Sullivan, on a dating app and as their relationship grew Maddi decided to end her partnership with Fravel. Kingsbury contacted her landlord and said she was terminating the least, and that she had found a townhouse where she and the children would live.
The state also laid out a list of electronic and video evidence it says proves Fravel killed Maddi and engaged in an elaborate coverup, also indicating there will be testimony on alleged abuse in the relationship.
Fravel’s defense team began its opening statement with a geography lesson of sorts, with attorney Zach Bauer naming Winona and the small communities of Rushford, Choice, Mable, and the highways and county roads that run through them. Bauer asked jurors to think about the locations as they listen to testimony and absorb the evidence presented in Fravel’s trial.
The defense then began painting its own picture of the relationship between Fravel and Kingsbury, saying like many couples they had disagreements and there were times Maddi would move out the home and other times when Fravel would go home to stay with his parents.
Unlike prosecutors – who said Kingsbury’s relationship with Spencer Sullivan was getting deeper – the defense told jurors about texts from Maddi to her sister saying she was going to marry Adam Fravel. Ultimately, Bauer told the court, Kingsbury and Fravel agreed to separate but were doing so in a cooperative and planned manner.
Bauer told jurors that Fravel cooperated with police after Kingsbury disappeared, saying his defense team would show that investigators ignored evidence and facts that suggested his innocence. He indicated they will challenge the prosecution’s version of how and where the body was found, and who may have had access to the remote site not far from Mabel.
The defense also said they will call a neighbor who will testify they never heard any fighting or signs of discord in the relationship between Kingsbury and Fravel.
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