BRANDON

Minnesota woman thankful nurse was nearby after near-fatal snowmobile crash

Celeste Edenloff — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 20:27:19 GMT

ASHBY, Minn. — Despite almost losing her life in a snowmobile crash nearly two weeks ago and suffering from severe injuries, Becky Sletto of Brandon, Minnesota, is spreading cheer and words of gratitude to everyone she comes in contact with at CentraCare Hospital in St. Cloud.

“I decided while I am here, I was just going to focus on God, His healing and the staff. I really have been trying to compliment, bless and tell every single person that’s come in contact with me how wonderful they are,” said Sletto in a FaceTime interview from her hospital bed on Feb. 20. “I’ll see their strengths and I’ll tell them, ‘Wow, you are really good at that.’ I thank them for what they are doing for me. And they just light up. It just blesses my heart.”

As thankful as she is for all of the people who are taking care of her at the hospital, Sletto is most thankful for one particular nurse. A nurse who doesn’t even work at the hospital, but who saved her life.

What happened?

Sletto, a single mom, co-owns Bombshells Salon and Spa in Alexandria. She has three children at home, ages 16, 9 and 6, as well as a grown daughter and a granddaughter who live nearby.

The snowmobile crash happened on Saturday, Feb. 11, in Ashby. Sletto was riding with three others — Connor Myers, who is her boyfriend, along with her friend of 35 years, Beth Minners, and her husband, Troy Minners.

Sletto wanted to surprise Myers with a snowmobile ride and Minners set it up for the four of them to ride. They had been riding some trails, but stopped in Ashby to get gas.

Beth Minners said that after getting gas, she and husband took off across Main Street back toward the trails and that Sletto and Myers were behind them.

“We were waiting for them to come, but it was taking a while so Troy went to see what was up and I instantly knew something wasn’t right,” said Minners. “I heard sirens and I started praying right away. That’s how fast they responded to her. It was unreal.”

Ken Froemming, a Grant County sheriff’s deputy who knows Sletto, heard the page but was on the south county line, away from where the crash happened.

Because it first sounded like there were some head injuries, LifeLink III was called to the scene, said Froemming. The Ashby First Responders and Ambulance were paged out immediately and Froemming said they got a landing zone set up on Main Street.

When Froemming arrived, Sletto was in the ambulance and he sat in there, talking to her, until the helicopter arrived.

“You don’t know how comforting it was to see a familiar face in that moment,” said Sletto about having Froemming sit with her. “Just him talking to me and me knowing him was just so soothing because it was scary. He was such a blessing.”

Froemming said Sletto’s snowmobile wouldn’t turn on the tar and she panicked and instead of hitting her brakes, she hit the throttle and rammed into a parked vehicle.

Sletto said she hadn’t been on a snowmobile since she was a teenager and that yes, she panicked and hit the gas, crashing into a car probably going 50 miles per hour.

“Thank God I had my helmet on,” she said.

She didn’t have any head injuries, but her injuries were extensive. The handlebars of the snowmobile went into the upper part of her thigh, damaging her femoral vein, causing her to lose about six units of blood. She also severed a tendon in her right thumb and has a compression fracture in her lower spine.

Froemming said a woman, Kasey Brandenburger, who happened to be nearby heard the crash and immediately went to Sletto’s aid.

“She’s a nurse and if it wasn’t for her, Becky would not be here. Becky would 100% be dead,” said Froemming, adding the quick action of the Ashby ambulance personnel also saved Sletto’s life.

A quick thinking nurse

Brandenburger and her husband have a lake home on Sewell Lake, just outside of Ashby. The couple, who live in New Effington, South Dakota, had gone to town to have breakfast. Brandenburger, who works as the director of nursing at a nursing home in Hankinson, North Dakota, said she and her husband spend most weekends at their home and they typically have breakfast in Ashby on Saturday mornings. This particular Saturday, she said, they went a little later than normal.

She said they were just leaving the cafe when they heard the snowmobiles going to the gas station.

“We looked over and saw them as we walked to our pickup,” said Brandenburger. “We heard one of the snowmobiles rev their engine. Thinking it was just someone showing off, we proceeded to get in our vehicle. As I was stepping up into the pickup, I heard a band or pop, like someone dropped a snowmobile off a trailer or something.”

The couple didn’t see anything right away, but as she looked around, Brandenburger said she saw a few people walking over between some vehicles.

“I told my husband, ‘I wonder if they need medical help’ and then I jogged over there,” she said. “As soon as I could see a person, I said I need something to stop the bleeding.”

Sletto said when the crash happened, Myers was there and saw everything. He thought there was fluid leaking out of the snowmobile, but it was actually her blood, she said.

“It was pouring out like crazy. Connor said, ‘Honey, are you OK?’ and I said I didn’t know, but I thought so,” said Sletto. “Then I looked down and there was blood literally everywhere. I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire life. It was a bit traumatizing.”

Brandenburger said she took her coat and balled it up to apply pressure. Sletto said Brandenburger used Myers' coat as a tourniquet and tied off her femoral vein.

“I screamed. It hurt so bad,” said Sletto.

Thank you isn’t enough

Sletto said that because of a basketball tournament in town, there were lots of people around and that because of it, there were EMTs on scene in a matter of minutes.

“Just how everything lined up was because of God’s divinity,” said Sletto. “It was just unbelievable. Every person in place was there at the right spot at the right time. It was just like all these little miracles.”

Sletto was able to meet Brandenburger.

“I couldn’t believe it. I woke up in the ICU and they were standing there and I didn’t know what to say,” said Sletto. “I don’t know how you say anything to somebody who saves your life. It’s so cliche to just say thank you. You see these things on the news or in movies and don’t expect them to happen to you. Saying thank you doesn’t even feel like enough. It never will.”

Sletto called Brandenburger a “sweet little soul” and thought it was so neat that she was able to meet her. She said they exchanged numbers and plan to stay in touch.

Saying thank you to all who were at the scene is something Sletto is looking forward to. She said she wants to do something good for them.

“I don’t know what that will look like, but I want to do something. I want to show them how important they are.”

Long road ahead

Because of the extent of her injuries, Sletto has already had to go through multiple surgeries and will be going through more. She has endured some setbacks and it is unknown at this time how long she will be hospitalized.

As she may be wheelchair bound, there was a group of people who have stepped up and already built her a ramp at her home in Brandon.

According to the information on the page, because of the extensive injuries and everything else she is facing, it is unknown when Sletto will be able to return to work.

“She has a long road of recovery ahead of her. And unfortunately for her, this means she has no way to provide for her family,” it said in the post.

Donations can be made via her GoFundMe page. Go to gofundme.com and search for “Becky Sletto.” They can also be made directly to her via her Venmo account – @Becky-Sletto – or to Bell Bank in Alexandria, c/o Becky Sletto.

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Brandon-Evansville senior Katrina Buchholz becomes a starter at the end of her long road through football

Eric Morken — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 19:46:40 GMT

Anyone who has played football through the varsity level knows how special it is getting a start on Friday night of a season-opening game as a senior.

It carries meaning for every athlete, but last Friday night was especially impactful for Brandon-Evansville’s Katrina Buchholz as she lined up at center with senior quarterback Titus Fuller taking the snap out of the shotgun against Hancock. After almost six years through an up-and-down journey in football, she could check off the last of the three goals she set for herself when she joined the sport as the lone girl on the team in 7th grade.

“Honestly, it didn’t even feel real,” Buchholz said. “Just because I never expected myself to go as far as I have. But I’m glad that I stuck with it and I’m able to make this difference and succeed at my goals. When I started, I made three goals for myself. That was to go all the way through senior year, become a captain and become a starter. I guess I’m one of those people where when I make a goal, I stick to it hardcore.”

Buchholz moved to the Brandon-Evansville area in sixth grade and did not play any sports that first year as she got used to her new surroundings. Even before that in elementary school, she would throw the football around with other kids at recess, and she felt like she might be pretty good at this sport. But she didn’t know of any other girls who had played.

As seventh grade came closer, a couple of boys in her class felt the same way about her ability in football -- she could be pretty good at this. They encouraged her to join, and she did.

“The other seniors that I have been with since day one have completely accepted me,” Buchholz said. “They’re basically my brothers. An older guy my sophomore year had said we’re one big family. We’re a bunch of brothers and a sister. At that point I was the only girl on the team. He said that, and that really stuck with me. This is a family, and it’s where I need to be. I can’t just quit on these guys even if I wanted to.”

Fighting through

There were moments where Buchholz wanted to quit.

She has been made fun of for taking the unconventional path of being in a male-dominated sport. She has dealt with injuries to her knees, a broken toe her junior year, and now a hip flexor strain that she is fighting through as a senior.

During the times she thought about quitting, Buchholz kept remembering the first goal she set for herself. Stick with it. Do something that no one else has done at the school.

“At the end of the year last year we talked, and she said, ‘I just want to be the first girl to make it all the way through the program,’” Brandon-Evansville head coach Tim Pattrin said of Buchholz. “When we were giving her the spot I said, ‘You said you wanted to be the first girl to make it. How would you like to be the first girl to start?’ She gets this big smile on her face. She’s a lot of fun. Those are the things that are fun as a coach to see.”

Buchholz played tight end through much of her career, but the Chargers were in need of help at center on the offensive line heading into a 2021 season where most players on the roster are seeing their first extended varsity snaps. Pattrin pulled Buchholz aside during team conditioning work this past summer to ask her about making a position switch.

“He said we’re moving to shotgun, so it won’t be under center,” Buchholz said. “We really think you would be good at it. We’ve watched your form for lifting and squatting. You have everything we need. At first I was a little confused on why they picked me. But I thought, I’ll give it a shot.”

It did not take long for Buchholz to fall in love with her new position. At a team camp in Bemidji, she realized it was easier for her to get on blocks against defensive lineman at center than at tight end where she found herself dealing with quicker athletes in space more often.

"It’s going to be hard. I have gone up and down like crazy playing football, but in the end it’s worth it. If you set goals for yourself and you look at those goals each and every day, you’ll get there because that goal is going to motivate you to reach it." - Katrina Buchholz

At 5-feet, 6-inches and about 175 pounds, Buchholz is going to be undersized against nearly every interior defensive lineman she goes against this season. She tries to combat that by staying low and getting a good angle on opponents. Last Friday, she watched how Hancock’s linemen were playing against her before making adjustments.

“All summer long, she has been the talk of every camp, every scrimmage that we’ve gone to,” Pattrin said. “I think it was first night under the lights, it’s an intimidating thing for her to do. She rose to the challenge, and I think she played a much better second half. She figured out that she can play. It’s exciting to see what she has done. She’s battled for four years. She’s done everything we’ve asked, and she deserves it. She has a great center of gravity. She’s able to get under people’s pads, and she’s stronger than you think she is. She’s really done well.”

‘In the end, it’s worth it’

Buchholz was the lone girl on the team for Brandon-Evansville when she started, but she is not anymore.

Kayla Bitzan-Anderson is a junior for the Chargers, and she has added another level of comfort for Buchholz late in her career.

“It’s nice to know other girls are going out for it now,” Buchholz said. “It’s just nice to have somebody there when I’m changing in pre-game and after the game to go through the emotions with me since I can’t be with the guys before and after. It’s nice to not be alone no matter if we win or lose.”

Buchholz said she has dealt with confidence issues on a personal level throughout her life, but football has helped boost her confidence on and off the field. It has not been easy. But it has definitely been worth it in multiple ways as she plays out her final season.

“My advice to any young girl who wants to go out for something that isn’t typical would be if you strongly have a good feeling about it and you think you can do it, go for it,” Buchholz said. “It’s going to be hard. I have gone up and down like crazy playing football, but in the end it’s worth it. If you set goals for yourself and you look at those goals each and every day, you’ll get there because that goal is going to motivate you to reach it.”

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1 person dead, another critically injured in motorcycle crash in central Minnesota

Forum News Service — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 17:53:58 GMT

BRANDON, Minn. — One person was killed and another critically injured in a motorcycle crash Tuesday evening, June 22, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Shawn August Olson, 44, and his passenger, Jeanine Kirscht, 49, both of Brandon, Minn., along with Levi Donson, also of Brandon, were westbound on County Road 108 north of Brandon when Olson reportedly crashed his motorcycle in the south ditch.

The crash was reported by Donson at 9:21 p.m. He told dispatchers that Olson was injured and that he was unsure if Kirscht was breathing, according to the sheriff's office. Olson was flown to Sanford Hospital in Fargo with life-threatening injuries.

Kirscht was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Douglas County deputies, Minnesota State Patrol, Brandon First Responders, North Memorial Ambulance and LifeLink III responded to the crash.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

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Brothers help lift van off girl pinned underneath

Celeste Edenloff — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 14:36:42 GMT

BRANDON TOWNSHIP, Minn. - Casey Skinner was at Chippewa Park on Saturday, Aug. 25, with family members enjoying the day. He hadn't seen his nephews in awhile, so his family decided to have a get-together at the park.

Suddenly, he heard his brother's girlfriend yelling and screaming.

"I thought it was because of the dogs getting into something, but then I heard someone else yelling, 'You ran over my baby,'" the 17-year-old from Alexandria said Monday morning.

A nearly 2-year-old girl had been hit and run over by a vehicle in the parking lot at the park, near the beach area between Devil's Lake and Little Chippewa Lake.

"It was so scary. It was nuts!" said Casey. "My adrenaline kicked in and I knew I had to get that kid out from under the vehicle."

Casey and his brother, Dustin Skinner, and a few others dropped what they were doing and immediately rushed over to the vehicle and lifted it up so that the child, Kenzie Moran, could be moved out from underneath.

"It was scary," Dustin agreed.

The 36-year-old from Alexandria explained that he was in the water with his kids when he heard his girlfriend, Amanda Maldonado, screaming. He, too, suspected she was yelling about their dogs until he also heard someone yelling something about a baby.

Dustin said his brother must have had a better view of what was taking place because Casey made it to the van before he did.

"It was just unbelievable," said Casey, a senior who attends the Alternative Learning Center in Parkers Prairie, where he is also a football player. He didn't know the family, who arrived at the park within minutes of the accident happening, but later found out that his sister was acquainted with the Morans.

The brothers said several other people helped lift the van off Kenzie. Once the girl was pulled out, her mother tried to keep her awake as she kept dozing off, Casey said.

"She just kept closing her eyes," he said. "We knew she probably had a concussion. It was just horrible."

Dustin said he kept picturing his 3-year-old daughter and kept thinking about what he would have done in that situation.

"I kept thinking, 'How did this happen?'" he said.

"It could have been one of my nephews," Casey said. "It was so scary. I can't imagine what the mom is going through."

Dustin said that because he has a big family and his family is used to having kids around - he is a father to three sons and one daughter - someone in their group took the little girl's five siblings to a different area of the park and kept them busy to get their minds off what was happening.

He also said Casey wasn't going to go out to the park that afternoon, but that because his kids wanted "to see their Uncle Casey," he decided to come to the beach party they were having.

"I'm so glad he came out that day," said Dustin. "I think he was supposed to be there and my family was supposed to be there - for that reason."

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Mother is grateful daughter, 23 months old, recovering after being pinned under van

Celeste Edenloff — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 14:32:30 GMT

BRANDON TOWNSHIP, Minn. - A 23-month-old girl who was run over by a vehicle Saturday, Aug. 25, is in stable condition and recovering in a Twin Cities hospital, according to her mother, Catherine Moran.

“I was scared,” said Moran, the 32-year-old mother of six. “She’s my baby. As I saw her face, when she was pinned (under the vehicle), I knew right there I was going to do everything possible to get her out. Mommy mode kicked in.”

Kenzie Moran of Brandon was struck by a slow-moving vehicle while she was walking with her siblings across the parking lot near the beach area at Chippewa Park in Brandon Township. Jason Borstad, 32, of Alexandria, was moving forward as he was parking when the girl was struck, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

Several people who were also at the park were able to get the girl out from under the vehicle, according to the report. The sheriff’s office, which received the call at approximately 4:20 p.m. Saturday, is investigating the incident.

From the park, a LifeLink III helicopter airlifted the little girl to Gillette Children’s Hospital in the Twin Cities.

Kenzie was initially in the pediatric intensive care but was released Tuesday, Aug. 28.

Scariest day of her life Moran said in an interview Monday that she brought her kids - Eric, 14; Kailee, 10; Aiden, 7; Ethan, 4; Kaitlynn, 3; and Kenzie - to the Douglas County park on Saturday for a picnic and a swim.

She explained that one of her sons and Kenzie were walking to her vehicle to get a life jacket for Kenzie and to help unload the car with help from the other kids, since they had just arrived at the park. Moran had taken their cooler from the car to their picnic table when she looked up and saw her son, but not Kenzie.

“That’s when I heard him scream that someone just ran over Kenzie,” Moran said. “In that same moment, I looked down and saw my daughter’s face under the van. It was the most scariest moment of my life.”

Moran said several people at the park came running over and helped to rescue her daughter. She called out for someone to call 911 and learned later that Amber Buse was the one who made the call.

Moran asked those around her to lift the front vehicle off her little girl. Moran said the girl was pinned under the axle next to the driver’s side front wheel.

She said it took a few minutes from the time the incident happened until the van could be lifted and her daughter pulled out from underneath it.

“I didn’t know a soul, but they were the most amazing people in the world,” Moran said. “They came to the rescue of my daughter and didn’t think twice about it. I want to thank everyone who helped lift that van off my daughter. They are my heroes.”

Moran also praised the first responders for helping her every step of the way in what she again called the scariest day of her life.

“I am just so thankful for everyone. I could never thank them all enough,” she said.

While the paramedics were working on Kenzie, Moran said she was able to talk with the driver of the van.

“He was very remorseful and I could see it in his eyes, his sadness,” she said. “His reaction was more shock. I know he didn’t see her.”

Emergency personnel worked on Kenzie on the ground before moving her to the ambulance to get her ready for the helicopter flight, Moran said. After LifeLink III arrived, they took her daughter from the ambulance area to where the helicopter was staged and then took off for Children’s Hospital in the Twin Cities.

“I did not get to go in the helicopter as I was the only one there with my children,” said Moran. “Once I got the children situated and family could be with them, I made my way to be with her.”

Kenzie has some scrapes and bruises on her back and the side of her head. One of her big toes was severed and broken, but Moran said doctors were able to sew it back on and stitch it up. Kenzie did not have any brain swelling or damage, her mother said, and will be fitted for a walking boot for the toe injury.

In a Facebook post Sunday afternoon, Moran wrote that her daughter was, “The strongest lil’ lady in the world. She has blown me away. I’m so proud of her.”

Moran also noted that Kenzie has a long road to recovery, but that she is optimistic.

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Toddler airlifted to hospital after being run over by vehicle in central Minnesota

Kaity Young — Sun, 26 Aug 2018 02:13:39 GMT

BRANDON, Minn. – A 23-month-old girl was run over by a driver maneuvering into a parking stall at Chippewa Park near Brandon, Minn., Saturday afternoon, Aug. 25, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported.

The toddler, whose name was not immediately released by police, was airlifted to Children’s Hospital in the Twin Cities.

According to the sheriff’s office, she was walking across a parking lot with her siblings when she was struck by a slow-moving vehicle driven by Jason Borstad, 32, of Alexandria. Bystanders were able to pull her out from under the vehicle before first responders arrived to help.

The sheriff’s office said it’s still investigating the incident.

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Patrol seeks information on hit-and-run of pedestrian on Interstate 94

Al Edenloff — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:28:54 GMT

BRANDON, Minn.-The Minnesota State Patrol is asking for the public's help in locating a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run crash near Brandon in west-central Minnesota on Tuesday, Aug. 22, between midnight and 12:30 a.m.

The vehicle was believed to be eastbound on Interstate 94, just west of the Brandon exit in an active construction zone when it struck a pedestrian who was walking east in the eastbound traffic lane or shoulder.

The pedestrian, Marshall Jarvela of Crosby, suffered serious injuries and was taken to the hospital. He has since been released and is continuing to recover at his home, according to the patrol.

It's possible the vehicle would have damage to the front passenger side mirror area, according to the patrol.

Anyone with information should contact the State Patrol at 651-582-1415.

Jarvela has been in the news before. In September 2016, he was charged with four felonies in Crow Wing County after authorities said he threatened to stab and chop up two women while wielding an arrow, a hammer and a saw.

Jarvela, 36, was charged with two counts of felony second-degree non-firearm assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of felony terroristic threats with reckless disregard of risk. In a plea agreement, all but one of the felonies were dismissed. Jarvela pleaded guilty to making terroristic threats, received a stay of imposition and placed on five years of supervised probation.

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Facebook feud leads to man getting stabbed in his chest

Al Edenloff — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 17:59:50 GMT

BRANDON, Minn. - A feud on Facebook led to a stabbing in Brandon Sunday night.

At about 11 p.m. on July 2, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office received a call from a resident in Brandon reporting that Bailey Scott Zastrow, 18, had been stabbed in a home.

Douglas County sheriff's deputies, North Ambulance and Brandon First Responders were dispatched to the scene, where deputies learned Zastrow had two non-life threatening stab wounds, one to his chest and one on his arm.

Within a short time, the suspect, identified as Gavin Daniel Johnson, 20, also of Brandon, was found at a different house. He was arrested without incident and transported to the Douglas County Jail.

Zastrow and Johnson are acquaintances and had recently been arguing on Facebook, which led to a physical confrontation at Second Street West in Brandon, according to the deputies' report.

During the encounter, authorities said that Johnson pulled a knife and stabbed Zastrow two times before Zastrow fled to a nearby residence.

Zastrow was transported by North Ambulance to the Douglas County Hospital. The investigation remains active and criminal charges against Johnson are pending.

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