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. 

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. 

MINNEAPOLIS — The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help to find a missing teenage girl. 

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) shared Thursday on X that 16-year-old Tivona Cardenas was last seen in late September in north Minneapolis. 

Cardenas is 5 feet 2 inches and 108 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, according to the Minnesota BCA. 

If you have any information on the teen’s whereabouts, call 911.