WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015
Serving Polk County’s St. t CCroix i VValley ll since i 1897 1897
VOL. 127 NO. 38
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Community mourns death of father, coach BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
Friends and family from St. Croix Falls and surrounding areas gathered over the weekend to lay o Peter “Pete” Kelly to rest. P His visitation was held H April 17 and funeral April A 18 1 at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in BalC sam Lake. s Kelly, 34, St. Croix Falls, was killed in what started Kelly as an evening of fi shing April 14 at Interstate State Park. While he and a friend fi shed on the Minnesota side of the park, an argument built with a group of three young men across the river, also fishing. Kelly and his friend drove to the Wisconsin side of the park to confront the men. Witness accounts of the clash differ, but reach the same outcome: Kelly was fatally stabbed in the heart. Kelly was a married father of fi ve who coached youth wrestling, football and baseball. A suspect in the stabbing, Levi C. Acre-Kendall, 19, of Cambridge, Minn. turned himself in to the Polk County
Sheriff’s Department on April 16, accompanied by a Minnesota attorney. He was charged April 17 with fi rst-degree reckless homicide. At his initial appearance, he was represented by a public defender from Wisconsin, Brian Smestad. At the appearance, district attorney Dan Steffen said Acre-Kendall had turned himself in only because he knew he was about to be arrested. Additionally, said Steffen, there was evidence that he and his friends had tried to hide their involvement in the crime. “I do give weight to the fact that he turned himself in,” said Judge Molly GaleWyrick, who set Acre-Kendall’s bond at $125,000. After Acre-Kendall’s court appearance, Pete Kelly’s brother, Mike Kelly, said it was “tough to see [Acre-Kendall], but it was good to get a look.” Investigations are ongoing. According to the criminal complaint, Kelly’s fi shing partner, Ross Lechman, said the argument had developed over the course of hours while he and Kelly were fi shing on the Minnesota side of the river. After the pair drove to the lower boat landing on the Wisconsin side of the park to confront
the three young men, the argument intensified between Kelly and Acre-Kendall. Lechman told police that one of Acre-Kendall’s friends stepped between the arguing men, asking both to settle down. Shortly after, Acre-Kendall pulled out a knife. At that point, Lechman told police, Acre-Kendall’s friends moved to the other side of the car. Lechman said he was watching them, not Kelly, when Kelly was stabbed. He was alerted to the stabbing when Kelly started to run away, saying, “We got to go. He stabbed me.” In the same criminal complaint, Acre-Kendall’s friends told police a different version of the story, saying Kelly had tried to pull Acre-Kendall from the car as the group was leaving the argument. Records show that Lechman called 911 at 9:45 p.m. and the three friends fl ed the scene in two vehicles. Kelly was transported to St. Croix Regional Medical Center. According to the medical report, he was stabbed in the left side chest, with associated injury to the heart. He died at roughly 10:35 p.m.
Sexual assault accusations, conduct of one person
Mill Pond Discovery Center Referendum passes, what’s next? BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@OSCEOLASUN.COM
The Mill Pond Discovery Center--a hybrid library, administrative and community center proposed for the Village of Osceola--took a leap toward fruition when the referendum to fund the municipal portion of the building passed, 182 to 84, in the April 7 election. Approval means the village can issue up to $2.4 million in general obligation bonds to build administrative offices, a municipal court, fi re and police departments in the center. The village’s piece represents about a third of the total project. SEE REFERENDUM, PAGE 10
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Levi Acre-Kendall, 19, of Cambridge, Minn. has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the fatal stabbing of Peter Kelly. Acre-Kendall made his initial court appearance April 17 at the Polk County Justice Center.
BY TOM STANGL TSTANGL@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
SUZANNE LINDGREN | THE SUN
Carole Nienaber and Mary Roberts, both members of Friends of the Library, serve sundaes at Osceola’s public library, April 17. The Friends of the Library were celebrating the passage of the referendum and National Library Week (April 12 - 18).
Polk County Sheriff Peter Johnson believes that the sexual assault accusations that formed tthe basis of charges against former jjailer Darryl Christensen, if proven tto be true, “are the conduct of one sspecifi c person acting outside of the sscope of his employment and are not rrefl ective of the otherwise professsional and dedicated staff of the Polk County jail.” C Johnson issued a press release Christensen April 14 outlining the timelines o f the accusations as well as actions taken by his SEE ASSAULT, PAGE 10
HealthyHeart .com
5K Run/Walk and Free Kids Run | April 25, 2015 Enjoy a 5K run and walk through the residential area of Osceola. Chip timing is available to 5K runners. Start and stop at Osceola High School. For more information, call 715-294-5736
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