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.

The Fearful Flood

The Fearful Flood

Reality struck me the one morning when I opened my eyes. My father walked into my bedroom at 2 o’clock in the morning with fear in his yes. He yelled, “Grab anything that is important to you.” After he said that remark, I started grabbing my photo albums and my athletic medals, not knowing what was going on. I looked outside, but nothing was different.  I walked out of my room and noticed everyone in the house running around in frustration. My mom was lost in thought, my dad was yelling for everyone to hurry, and my brother and sister were confused like I was. I ran downstairs to my sister’s room and realized there was water leaking through all the sides of the windows. My parents, siblings, and I loaded into all the vehicles to evacuate. We threw what we could of our belongings into the trunk and grabbed our cat and our new dog, which we just bought the day before. We were all still wondering what was going on. My sister, brother and I asked my dad what was going on. My dad was so scared, he couldn’t answer.

We drove to my aunt’s house since it was on higher ground and we knew we would be safe. The anxiety was making my body weak, as I kept sitting their wondering what the town will look like when the sun rises. My other family members were at my aunt’s house also, we were all packed in the living room scared and worried. My aunt had a camper in her driveway that all the kids went to sleep in.  I couldn’t close my eyes and get rest. No one else could sleep in the house or camper either. As six o’clock in the morning came around, I wanted to go into town to see if anything changed. My dad and uncle didn’t want anyone going into town until they checked it out first. As we drove down the hill, we did not make it that far until we realized that we would have to use a canoe to get through the streets to my house. Later, my grandpa and father used a canoe to get to the house to see how bad it looked. My grandpa told my dad, “I think we saw your freezer floating down the streets.” My dad replied, “How did you know it was our freezer?” My grandpa laughed and said, “I knew it was your freezer because there was a ton of freezies in it!”

 The rest of us walked the dikes by foot to go look at our houses. The water filled half our house, ruining everything we owned on the whole lower level. The National Guard came to our town and blocked off streets for the towns safety. If we had to leave to drive somewhere, we had to show that we were a town resident and could only be gone for a certain reason; shopping for things we had lost in flood, volleyball practice, if worked in a different town, or if we were working with the cleaning crew. The Salvation Army also came to support with food, clothes, and shelter. I couldn’t believe how much damage the water had done to our town. A lot of families either lived in the FEMA trailers, at a friend or families home, or moved out of Rushford. It took a couple of weeks for the water to drain but when all the water did drain, it was a sad and horrible sight to see. A chemical, Ecoli, was in the water and mud that ruined everything. The smell of the Ecoli filled the town. The Ecoli was so strong that everyone had to wear masks and gloves. Colleges and people from other towns came to help clean.  Everything from the houses that people were taking out of their homes, covered the streets. The tears rolled down everyone’s faces that drove on the streets in Rushford. School was held off for a while, and volleyball was a stressful time during practices. It took a long time to get back into the regular groove. Finally, the town did become closer from the flood. We all got together to help and support one another.

After the flood hit the town of Rushford, life changed for everyone! People moved to other towns to start a new life, some re-built in the country, others fixed the damages and started from there. My family re-built the whole lower level and took one step at a time to start a new beginning.

Minnesota dad charged with killing his wife and 2 kids

In Minneapolis, there was a 43 year old Minnesota man who hit his wife with a golf club and strangled her. Then he killed two of their children and locked their bodies in seperate rooms. The man was charged with 3 counts of intentional second-degree murder. He had one son who was 12 and had a daughter who was 9 years old. Their family was found in their Vadnais Heights apartment late Wednesday, October 13th. The man told the investigators that he struck his wife in the head with a golf club and strangled her with an electrical wire. Also, that he gave his children cranberry juice spiked with Tylenol PM pills. And then he told him that he held his son's head under water in the bathtub until he stopped struggling, and smothered the girl with a pillow and strangled her. He is due in court Friday October  15th. 
I personally cannot believe that a father would kill his own wife and kids. I think it is so wrong, in so many ways! The kids are so young, and did not have a life to live. They couldn't experience college life, prom, graduation, marriage, having kids, or even just meeting new people and making memories. I hope this man gets the worse thing possible in court, he deserves it! 

Tinkering School

I thought the video on Gever Tulley's approach on learning is unique and very creative. I thought of different changes that could occur in our school system. I personally do not like how teachers base the knowledge of a person through tests.  A lot of people have problem with test taking, studying, etc. More recently, teachers have been loading students with a lot of homework and expect a good chunk of hours to be spent on that class. When a student has a large number of classes, the hours for each class add up. Students have become busier also, whether its a student in high school or college. Sports, work, family and friends play a big part in the students life. Where can the student find time to work, study, and have a social life when the teachers load them with homework and study pressure? I would love to attend a school that taught learning in such a way! I am a hands-on learner and would love to free my mind in learning things more hands-on rather then reading in a book all day and everyday! I think it is a great idea for the students to explore the wold in learning in a fun way rather than a  stressful way. Also, failure plays a big role in our society. If a person were to fail a test or quiz, the student would feel downgraded from the rest of the class that got a higher score. Through our society the upper class is more appreciated and noticeable than the lower class. I think a learning environment should be fun, not an environment that is pressured into being "the best"!

My Labor Day Weekend

Over the Labor Day weekend, I worked two jobs and spent quality time with my family and friends. My first job requires valuable time spent with children. I work at a daycare, that I absolutely love. I love working with the children through curriculum and watching them each and every Friday! After watching kids on Fridays, I serve coffee drinks at a cafe. Working at the cafe bright and early in the morning is difficult, but the smell of the coffee drinks keeps me going. Working at the cafe Saturdays and Sundays makes me even more excited to leave and see my family and friends. After work on Friday I went to the football game with my friends. Then Saturday and Sunday after work I spent time wit my family; working on my sister's new house and going out to eat for pizza for my grandma's birthday! I enjoyed the Labor Day weekend, even though I had to work.

A little about me!

Hi, my name is Heather Vix. I am attending Western Technical College to get my degree in Therapeutic Massage. After Therapeutic Massage, I plan on broadening my horizon more in that field and working with cancer massage, pregnancy massage, and hot rocks. My father is a PTA and MT for Winona Health Hospital. He has been the one to encourage me in this field  of interest.

In my spare time, I love to exercise, play sports, listen to music, dance, and especially spend quality time with my family and friends. I am a very outgoing person, that loves to have a good time. I have one brother and one sister. My brother is in eighth grade and my sister just got married recently and is currently working in Winona at the Technical College. I like talking about my siblings because both of them has helped me in different ways throughout our years of growing up. I have a huge family, with many cousins. Overall, my family is a big part of me.

Something you should know about me would be my thyroid problem. Just a few months ago, I found out the thyroid problem that ran in my family. I began to become more and more tired whether I was driving, exercising, etc. I got it checked out and it was that my thyroid was over-active, and that is why I got extremely tired very easily. So now I get to be on medication for the rest of my life for it. But, at least now I can stay awake for a whole day.