Woman Charged in Minnesota Crash That Killed Boy

     A woman was accused of speeding and caused a crash that killed an 11-year-old boy and injured his parents and sister. The woman is facing criminal charges in Dakota County. The 28-year-old woman is named, Leah Christina Graeber, from Savage. She was supposedly driving up to 86 miles per hour on Highway 13. This incident occurred in Burnsville on July 18th. They say that she lost control of her car, went through a grass median, and hit an SUV going in a different direction. The 11-year-old boy that was killed was named, Joel Balistreri. They charged Leah Graeber with vehicular homicide by gross negligence, which caused bodily harm by operating a vehicle. She was also caught with possession of cocaine. But, the blood test that Leah Graeber took, stated that she was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident.

     I think if an incident were to happen like that anywhere, the person charged with these horrific crimes of vehicular homicide, should not be given a valid driver's licence. I think their licence should be taken away until further notice of the right that they have proof to get it back if they are approved.

Woman Could Face Child Neglect Charges

Nicole Lynn Jonsgaard, who is twenty three years old, lives in Winona County. Nicole was faced with criminal charges after she left her young children alone in a hotel room. She was reported to the Winona County Attorney's Office, possible charged for child neglect. She is living in the hotel room with her three children who are 4, 2, and 1  years of age. A tenant at the hotel called police around 8:50 PM, because he heard a 4-year-old in the hallway crying for the mother. The tenant called the front desk and and reported the child. They arrived at Nicole's hotel door and knocked, but no one responded. Since no one responded they walked into the room and noticed that there were the young children but no one was their for them to be supervised. Then, Nicole returned 15 minutes later. I think it is rediculous that the own mother would leave her young children alone, when they have no capability of doing a lot of things on their own.  

Drunken Driving Targeted in 13 Minnesota Counties

The Department of Public Safety calls the most dangerous for impaired driving will be targeted over the Thanksgiving weekend with extra DWI patrols and continuing all the way through September 2011. The most common deadly period for traffic accidents are estimated to be Wednesday through Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. There have been 16 deaths in the last three years with 6 that were alcohol-related. The counties that had the highest total of alcohol-related deaths and serious injuries during 2007 to 2009 were; Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Itasca, Olmsted, Ramsey,   Rice, St.Louis, Scott, Stearns, Washington and Wright. It is sad to see peoples lives taken away from someone else being an idiot and drinking too much alcohol. I think it should be mandatory for people at the bar to   manage people  and make sure they have a ride home! My uncle was killed riding his motorcycle, while being hit by a drunken driver. The driver said that he saw my uncle but couldn't stop his   truck  and so was hoping he wouldn't hit my uncle  because he had to get his girlfriends turtle to the creek.

Level 3 sex offender to live in Winona; community meeting tonight

Joseph Charles Zacher, who is 31 years old, was released from prison Monday and will be living in downtown Winona. He was convicted as a level 3 sex offender. Prosecutors decided not to submit Zacher into the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. He is a level 3 sex offender, which is the highest level given in Minnesota for sex offenders. So i personally think that Zacher should have been submitted to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. He was in prison since 2004, which that was the time he was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Winona County. He will live on the 150th block of East Third Street, which is the same residence of another sex offender that is currently living their also. If anyone is convicted of such a high  crime as a sex offender or anything along those lines, i personally think that it should be mandatory for them to go through a program to get help!

Wabasha-Kellogg Bomb Scare False Alarm

The Wabasha-Kellogg staff found a broken metal can at 8 a.m. that was filled with a certain type of debris, laying on the playground. The staff was worried with how the debris was spread throughout the can and around the can, thinking it might have been some type of explosive. The elementary school just notified the parents, but the rest of the school was evacuated from the building and the police were asking around to see if any threats were made to the students.


In the end, they found out that the can was filled with some type of cement or mortar. They figured that some students were probably just horsing around and smashed the can when school was not in session. "Agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives collected evidence at the scene just in case", said superintendent Jim Freihammer.


We had a false bomb threat when I was in middle school at Rushford-Peterson. The kid was found guilty at the scene and was expelled from such  stupidity act. I think it is ridiculous that kids can think they can get away with something like a bomb threat, or even think it is funny. A bomb threat is a big deal and will scare a lot of people and families and is not something to joke about.

Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty to Killing His Wife

A 47-year-old man, who lives in Minneapolis, plead guilty to stabbing his wife in an argument over money. They were married for 24 years. The 47-year-old husband, Billy Nash, stabbed his wife more than 70 times in the chest and head. Pauline Nash, 42-year-old wife, was stabbed with butcher and paring knives. The paper also brought up that Billy Nash was sent to court 10 days prior to the killing of his wife because he beat her several times. This all happened last April, and Billy Nash will be sentenced November 29th. I think it is ridiculous that someone could do such a horrible thing to another human being. Also, the court needs to do things more differently i think. I don't understand why things take so long and why their is always a long period until the person goes to jail, even if the person pleads guilty. When someone is guilty for a horrible murder, they could just get a couple years, but when someone is charged with rape, they get longer then if they murdered someone. I don't understand the different laws and how they can let someone off the hook for such a terrible  reason.

Teen Driver in Traffic Fatality Appears in Court

Seventeen-year-old, Adam Greden, was charged with vehicular homicide in an April crash, that killed three Lewiston Altura classmates and seriously injured another.


Adam was driving in a "grossly negligent manner" said the Winona Daily News. Him and another vehicle were driving at a speed of 90 mph. The other vehicle was driven by Marie Ruhoff and two of her passengers, Katie Lee Hornberg who was 14 years old, and Morgan Elizabeth Zeller who was only 13 years old. Cydney Maker, who was 12 years old, survived the crash.


I knew the girl driver of the car who died in the crash. I think it is terrible to die at such a young age. Also, all teens should know to be very careful when driving. I understand how exciting it is to get a license, but so many young adults now days die from car crashes. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of these young people whose lives were taken from them.







* Adam Greden killed 3 classmates and seriously injured another. He was charged as an "adult". And his conditions included being law-abiding and not having any unexcused absences at school. Also, he will not be allowed to drive and must complete the booking process at the Winona County Jail.