Local News

The Tomah Rotary Club, a recognized nonpartisan organization, will present two Candidates’ Forum on Thursday, March 19th.
The forums will take place at Cranberry Country Lodge, 319 Wittig Road, Tomah, WI. The
first forum will begin at 6:00 and will include the individuals running for the position of
Mayor and the position of City of Tomah Alderperson. The second forum will take place
immediately following the Mayor/Alderperson Forum and will include the individuals
running for the Tomah Area School District Board.
Candidates running for Mayor are Paul Dwyer and Remy Gomez. City Alderperson
candidates are Richard Yarrington – District 2, Shawn Zabinski – District 4, Eric Devine
and Daniel Crego – District 6, and Dean Peterson – District 8. Candidates running for
Tomah School Board include Rick Murray, Joseph Ingalls, Susan Bloom, Ryan DeFreitas,
Vaughn Kuehl and Mike Gnewikow. The top three candidates will take a seat on the
school board.
The format of the forum will be: Each candidate will have a timed opportunity to introduce
themselves. Lots will be drawn to determine order and then will follow a round robin
format. A moderator will ask preset questions. Each candidate will have a timed
opportunity to answer the question. All questions will be vetted for appropriateness and
content. Each forum will end with a timed opportunity to present their closing thoughts.
The public is encouraged to attend the forums. The election will be held on Tuesday, April
7th. Polls are open from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM in Wisconsin. City of Tomah residents can
vote at Recreation Park at 1625 Butts Avenue in Tomah. Voters living outside of the city
of Tomah will need to check their voting locations with their township or village. Members
of the public who would like their question considered should send their question via email
to tomahrotaryclub@gmail.com by Thursday, March 12

Monroe County District Attorney Kevin D. Croninger announced that on February 27,
2026, Honorable Judge Paul Curran found Melissa R. Knutson, of Readstown, Wisconsin guilty of Misconduct in Public Office and Obstructing an officer. These convictions were based upon Knutson’s pleas to these charges.
Judge Curran then sentenced Knutson to 18 months of initial confinement in prison and an additional 2 years of extended supervision for the Misconduct in Public Office conviction. Knutson was also sentenced to 180 days of jail on the Obstructing an Officer conviction, this sentence will run concurrently to her prison sentence. Judge Curran ordered Knutson be taken into custody immediately following the completion of the February 27, 2026 hearing.
The charges stem from Knutson’s time as a nurse for Monroe County. During that time, while serving as a nurse for a drug court participant, Knutson repeatedly engaged in sexual intercourse with that patient/participant. When the facts of her intercourse with a patient/participant were reported to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Knutson responded by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault. Both via letter and by entering her plea, Knutson acknowledged that she was not sexually assaulted, and instead fabricated that allegation to avoid consequences for her sex acts with the patient/participant.
District Attorney Kevin Croninger praised the sentence from Judge Curran, “The harm caused by Ms. Knutson was deep and significant. Not only did she violate the sacred trust between a patient and a nurse, but she compounded that by falsely accusing the patient of sexual assault. This situation is particularly egregious given the patient in this situation was a participant in drug court. Judge Curran was extremely concerned about the
significant level of harm caused by Ms. Knutson and his sentence reflected that significant level of harm. We are thankful for Judge Curran’s perspective, understanding, and the sentence he handed down.”
The Honorable Judge Paul Curran, who serves as a Juneau County Circuit Court Judge, did not mince words when describing the serious nature of Ms. Knutson’s behavior. During sentencing Curran indicated that Knutson’s behavior was “despicable” and that she was “an embarrassment to nurses everywhere.” Curran further indicated that it appeared Knutson, felt she was more important than everyone else and that her purported remorse was “a mile wide and an inch deep.”
The prosecution of the case was handled by Monroe County District Attorney Kevin Croninger with support and assistance by the staff of the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.
The investigation of the case was led by Lieutenant Jose Tovar of the City of Sparta Police Department, with assistance from Deputy Chief Booker Ferguson and Officer Adam Malin, of the City of Sparta Police Department, Monroe County District Attorney’s Office Investigator Andrew Kuen, and Investigator JoEllen Egge of the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office.
Croninger praised the high quality of work from all officers involved, “All officers involved in this matter
demonstrated a tremendous commitment to seeking the truth, through evidence. All involved take every sexual assault very seriously. When Ms. Knutson reported she was sexually assaulted that allegation was taken seriously. The officers were highly professional in investigating that allegation and determining that Ms. Knutson was lying. Officers then completed an extremely thorough and effective investigation which uncovered a plethora of evidence, that Ms. Knutson was in fact the perpetrator, not the victim. Without this commitment to seeking the truth through evidence, an unjust result may have occurred. Instead the truth was discovered and justice was served. All officers involved deserve a tremendous amount of credit for their commitment to uncovering the truth.

Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson reports on Friday morning, February 20, 2026, at approximately 8:45 AM, the Sheriff’s Office 911 Dispatch Center received a report of a motor vehicle crash on Kelbel Road near the intersection of Knapp Valley Road, rural Cashton, WI, in the Town of Clinton.

Knowlton Scot Sanders, age 60, of rural Cashton, was operating an International Workstar dump truck, actively engaged in winter highway maintenance, plowing snow.  Due to the heavy snowfall, Sanders lost reference to the roadway edges and went off the left side of the roadway.  The truck rolled onto the driver’s side and came to rest just off the roadway.

Sanders was injured and transported to Vernon Health, in Viroqua, WI by La Farge Area Ambulance and Gundersen Tri-State Ambulance.

Assisting the Sheriff’s Office at the scene were the Cashton Fire Department, Cashton First Responders, and La Farge Area Ambulance.

The crash remains under investigation.