DASSEL

Famous Darwin Twine Ball had its start 75 years ago this month

Jennifer Kotila — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 17:00:00 GMT

DARWIN, Minn. — It has been 75 years since Francis A. Johnson wound the first piece of baler twine around two fingers to form a ball and for 29 years he kept winding, creating the largest ball of twine in the world made by one man.

Johnson, a bachelor farmer and carpenter, started winding the twine in March of 1950 and by all accounts spent one to four hours each day methodically wrapping the twine as perfectly symmetrical as possible.

When the ball of twine became too large for Johnson to wind and move manually, he began using railroad jacks — the kind used to lift boxcars — to move the ball around and keep it symmetrical as he continued adding twine.

The history of Johnson and the Darwin Twine Ball is widely known, and the Darwin Twine Ball Museum also maintains a pamphlet about the history. Various local and regional newspaper articles are on display at the museum, and many more can be found on the online newspaper archive at Newspapers.com.

Johnson completed his ball of twine in 1979 and it was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, holding that title until 1994 when a twine ball formed by J.C. and Elsie Payne of Mountain Springs, Texas, overtook it.

But Johnson’s ball of twine is special — it is the largest ball of twine created by one man and is made completely of brown sisal twine. It weighs 8.7 tons, is 11 feet tall and measures about 40 feet around.

Another man, Frank Stoeber of Cawker City, Kansas, started winding a twine ball in 1953 to compete with Johnson, but he died in 1974, according to an Aug. 12, 2001, Star Tribune article. However, starting in the 1980s, residents of Cawker City held annual “Twine-a-thons” eventually surpassing Johnson’s record.

The Payne ball of twine in Texas that currently holds the record is a little more than 13 feet tall and a little more than 41 feet around. It was formed with the help of 70 people and is constructed of nylon twine, weighing in at 6.5 tons, according to an article in the Dec. 1, 1993, Star Tribune.

The article attributes Thea Underhill, then manager of the Darwin Country Store, as saying, “And therein lies the problem. It still stands that this was an original and this was made by one man. It was an accomplishment. The rest were all copies.’”

The article reported that the Paynes set out in 1989 to break the record and that Johnson knew his record would be broken someday. The article quotes Johnson from a previous interview regarding the Cawker City twine ball: “I told them they’re welcome to it. I can’t stop them.”

Johnson, born on April 17, 1904, in Kingston Township to Magnus and Harriet Johnson, lived his entire life in Meeker County and was known as an eccentric character who collected a wide range of various things, which Johnson himself attributed to his mother telling him to never waste anything.

His father was a Swedish immigrant farmer who served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1930s and as a U.S. senator in the 1920s. He was active in the Farmer-Labor Party and Johnson often drove his father during campaign events, according to an article in the Sept. 18, 1992, Star Tribune. “The twine ball made Francis far more famous than his father,” the article states.

Johnson was also a talented wood carver and carved giant wooden pliers that contained sets of smaller and smaller wooden pliers.

One set of pliers was seven feet in length and contained 25 additional pliers ranging in size from 7 feet to 1 inch.

Each individual pliers opens and the basswood carving contains no pins, pegs or glue holding any of the pliers together. It is approximately 20 feet in length when fully open.

When Johnson died on Oct. 24, 1989, the twine ball and other collections, which included 7,000 wood pencils, 1,700 carpenters aprons, 20,000 old irons, toy sewing machines, ancient tools and other items, helped to revitalize the small town of Darwin, Minnesota.

“It’s genuinely touching, albeit a little bit surreal, to hear Darwin residents talk about how the product of Johnson’s whimsy gave the town something to rally around economically, and to see old TV-news footage of the twine ball being trucked to the town square for display after Johnson’s death,” read an article in the Nov. 18, 1993, Star Tribune reviewing the TV show “Only in Minnesota with Louie Anderson.”

During Johnson’s lifetime, the twine ball was located in his front yard just east of Darwin, north of U.S. Highway 12 and protected by the top of an old silo.

When the city of Darwin acquired the twine ball in 1991, its new home was a wooden gazebo with clear Plexiglas panels in the center of town. Johnson’s collections were displayed at various businesses.

For 20 years, Ripley’s Believe It or Not had attempted to buy the Darwin Twine Ball and also tried to convince the Darwin Community Club to give it up after Johnson died.

“Their ploy was, ‘Who’s going to see it in Darwin?’” Underhill is quoted as saying in an Aug. 12, 2001, Star Tribune article. “Our little club explained, ‘We’ll take care of that.’”

And indeed, it did — with a little help from Weird Al Yankovic, who recorded “The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota” on his 1989 album "UHF." Yankovic visited the ball of twine in 1996 and his fans also often visit the twine ball. The alley next to the Twine Ball Museum is Weird Alley.

People from all over the world travel to Darwin to see the largest ball of twine made by one man and it is estimated by the Twine Ball Museum that about 150 people visit it daily in the summer months.

The same year that the twine ball moved into town, Darwin began celebrating Twine Ball Days on the second Saturday of August. It is a daylong celebration with a race, volleyball tournament, parade and more. This year will be the 34th annual celebration.

This year will also be the 13th annual Darwin Night at the Ballpark at Saints Field in Dassel, honoring Darwin’s former town baseball team. The event takes place on the night that the Dassel-Cokato Saints play the Litchfield Blues, which this year is July 9, and folks wear Darwin baseball jerseys and there are twine ball races and other festivities.

In 2014, people in Darwin’s sister city Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, listened on the radio as Darwin, Minnesota, Mayor Josh Johnson told them the story of Francis Johnson and the Darwin Twine Ball. In July of 2015, Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim of Darwin, Australia, came to visit the twine ball, according to a July 27, 2015 article in the Dassel-Cokato Enterprise Dispatch.

Not only have people traveled from around the world to see the Darwin Twine Ball, the twine ball itself, along with Johnson, traveled to New York City in 1958 to appear on the TV show “I’ve Got A Secret,” according to an article in the March 4, 1994, St. Cloud Times. At that time, it weighed about 6,000 pounds, was only 8 feet across and it was estimated the twine would be about 930 miles long if unraveled.

The Darwin Twine Ball was also featured on the Pioneer PBS "Postcards" series. KARE 11 News also featured Darwin Twine Ball Day in a past news report.

In the 1993 Star Tribune article, Edward Meyer, then vice president of exhibits and archives at Ripley’s world headquarters in Orlando, Florida, lamented, “I really thought we would get that ball when Francis died.”

Although it was unable to acquire Johnson’s world-famous ball of twine, Ripley’s Believe It or Not did acquire the Payne nylon ball of twine and it is displayed in Branson, Missouri. It also acquired Johnson’s collection of carpenters aprons.

The old Darwin railroad depot was moved and sits behind the gazebo that houses the twine ball. The depot houses the Twine Ball Museum to display the history of Johnson and the town of Darwin. It also serves as a souvenir shop, which sells miniature twine balls, twine ball starter kits, T-shirts, hats, mugs and other twine ball souvenirs.

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Dassel, Minnesota, man alleged to have shot wife in front of their children

Dale Morin — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 17:58:06 GMT

LITCHFIELD, Minn. — A rural Dassel man who last week surrendered himself to law enforcement at his home after reporting that he shot his wife is now charged in the homicide, alleged to have been witnessed by their two children.

Bryan William Demarais, 35, made his first court appearance on Tuesday in Meeker County District Court on a second-degree murder charge and two felony counts of child endangerment.

The death of his wife, Kayla Demarais, 29, was ruled a homicide resulting from multiple gunshot wounds, according to an autopsy report from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.

According to the criminal complaint, a search of the residence in the 22000 block of 713th Avenue yielded multiple .22-caliber rounds found near Kayla Demarais' body in the living room area of the home. Court documents do not identify her by name, but she was named in an earlier news release by the Meeker County Sheriff's Office.

Neither child was physically harmed, and the Meeker County Sheriff's Office said they have been placed in protective custody.

On the morning of Dec. 28, Bryan Demarais called law enforcement from his residence to report that he had shot his wife and requested a law enforcement response. According to the criminal complaint, he also advised the dispatcher that children were present in the home and he had told them to stay back.

He requested that the children be removed from the home through a window in another room where they would not have to see their mother.

He then stated that he had shot his wife repeatedly in the head but said he "may have hit a couple other spots," according to the complaint. He said he had shot his wife with a .22-caliber firearm, which was sitting on top of a washing machine in the home.

According to the complaint, when the dispatcher asked for the identity of the victim, Bryan Demarais immediately responded by saying, "Her name was (Kayla)."

An online fundraising page at gofundme.com/f/kayla-marie-demarais has been set up by a family member of Kayla's in Georgia.

"My beautiful sister was taken from this world, leaving 2 young children and a family devastated," Casey Watts wrote on the page seeking funds to help the family with expenses related to Kayla Marie Demarais' death and to bring her children to Georgia.

When law enforcement arrived at the home on Dec. 28, Bryan Demarais came out and was arrested. He advised officers that he had anxiety and needed medication to calm him down. He indicated he was not injured and denied any further medical assistance.

He also told officers two children were in the home along with his wife, but she was dead.

Officers entered the home and found Kayla Demarais in the living room with apparent gunshot wounds to her head. According to the complaint, she did not have a pulse and was declared dead at the scene.

An 11-year-old male and an 8-year-old female were located in a bedroom and assisted in exiting the home through the window.

During follow-up interviews conducted separately with the two children, each said their parents had a fight on the morning of Dec. 28, and that Bryan Demarais returned home soon after leaving for work. According to the complaint, the children were in a bedroom playing video games while their parents were arguing in the kitchen area.

The children then heard a gunshot and saw their mother fall to the floor in the living room. She reportedly told them to call 911, before Bryan Demarais allegedly yelled, ordering them to "close the door," before saying he would call 911. According to the complaint, the children then heard more gunshots before Bryan Demarais called 911.

When he was interviewed, Bryan Demarais said that he and his wife had argued the previous evening about financial problems and ongoing marital issues. He told officers his wife was involved in an extramarital relationship and that he found messages on his wife's phone that morning from the other man.

Demarais said he was so mad before leaving for work that he told their two children there would be a divorce, according to the complaint. He said he only got angrier after speaking with his wife on the phone while heading to his place of employment in Hutchinson and immediately hung up. According to the complaint, she attempted to call him two more times, but he did not answer. He also stated he couldn't recall any events after declining her calls.

According to the criminal complaint, Bryan Demarais suffers from medical conditions that can result in short-term memory loss. He qualifies for caregiver services and had designated Kayla Demarais as his primary caregiver.

Bryan Demarais' supervisor told law enforcement that Demarais had arrived late for a 9 a.m. shift on Dec. 28. He said Demarais told him that his marriage was over and appeared to be extremely distraught. The supervisor offered additional support services, but Demarais declined, according to the complaint. The supervisor then allowed him to go home for the rest of the day.

Demarais' next court hearing is currently scheduled for March 25. The document specifying bail conditions after his appearance Tuesday morning was not available as of Tuesday afternoon.

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Woman shot near Dassel identified; husband to be charged with murder

Jennifer Kotila — Sat, 30 Dec 2023 18:34:43 GMT

DASSEL, Minn. — The victim of a shooting death on Thursday morning, Dec. 28, in Dassel Township, has been identified, according to a Meeker County Sheriff's Office's news release.

The death of Kayla Demarais, 29, of rural Dassel, has been ruled a homicide resulting from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.

Her husband, Bryan Demarais, 35, of rural Dassel, was arrested on second-degree murder and is being held in the Meeker County Jail pending a first court appearance on Tuesday, Jan. 2.

According to the sheriff's office, Bryan Demarais called law enforcement on Thursday to report that he had shot his wife and requested a law enforcement response.

Two children in the home at the time of the shooting were not injured and have since been placed in protective custody.

The investigation remains active and ongoing.

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West-central Minnesota man charged after standoff

Jennifer Kotila — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 22:07:19 GMT

LITCHFIELD, Minn. — The 31-year-old Dassel, Minnesota, man who was taken into custody late Tuesday after a day-long standoff at his home is believed to have fired multiple rounds in the direction of law enforcement officers, according to the criminal complaint.

Aaron Mitchel Peterson made his first appearance Friday in Meeker County District Court. According to an amended criminal complaint filed Friday, he faces felony charges of second-degree assault and threats of violence, a gross misdemeanor drug possession charge and nine gross misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Bail without conditions was set at $200,000 cash or bond. Bail with conditions was set at $100,000 bond or $10,000 cash. Conditions include no use or possession of alcohol, drugs or firearms.

His next court date is Aug. 26.

During the standoff, officers at different times reported hearing sounds they suspected were gunshots, according to the criminal complaint. A search of the home afterward found nine firearms and evidence that Peterson had fired shots in the home during the incident in the direction of law enforcement officers.

The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched Monday to a residence in rural Dassel after Peterson allegedly threatened to shoot up a family member’s home, according to the complaint.

The family member was in possession of Peterson’s guns and had refused demands for their return, according to the complaint.

Peterson is on probation for a felony offense and cannot legally possess firearms. The felony offense from a few years prior also resulted in a standoff between Peterson and law enforcement, according to the criminal complaint.

Peterson allegedly told the family member not to call law enforcement, and that the family member would be responsible if anyone got hurt. He also allegedly stated this was “going to be the end of it,” according to the criminal complaint.

The family member believed Peterson to be suicidal, depressed and possibly using controlled substances, and that he also might currently be armed, according to the complaint.

Given the nature of the allegations, and Peterson’s history, law enforcement enabled a SWAT response, and a Meeker County deputy posted himself outside Peterson’s house to maintain a soft perimeter until SWAT arrived, according to the complaint.

A man who drove away from the residence told the deputy that Peterson had a shotgun stashed somewhere in the house, but that he did not appear under the influence.

After the SWAT team arrived, it attempted to contact Peterson without success. A search warrant for the house was obtained Monday evening, but the SWAT team continued to make efforts to contact Peterson instead of entering by force, according to the complaint.

Late Monday, an armored vehicle was deployed to break a window to allow a drone to enter and gather information, according to the complaint, and chemical irritant rounds also were projected into the house.

Attempts at contact continued throughout Monday evening and into the early morning hours Tuesday. Peterson spoke on the phone sometime Tuesday but he still refused to surrender.

On Tuesday evening, officers breached a windowless bathroom on the main floor, believing it could be a hiding spot. After continued deployment of chemical irritant rounds and more communications, Peterson eventually exited and surrendered.

He was medically cleared by ambulance personnel before being transported to jail.

Officers then executed the search warrant. In addition to the weapons, a plastic baggie that field-tested positive for methamphetamine was found in the home.

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West-central Minnesota man in custody after day-long standoff

Jennifer Kotila — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 21:37:07 GMT

DASSEL, Minn. — A 31-year-old rural Dassel man is in custody on a pending charge of terroristic threats after a standoff with law enforcement that lasted more than a day.

The man finally exited his home south of Dassel at approximately 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, according to a news release from the Meeker County Sheriff's Office.

He is being held in the Meeker County Jail on a felony arrest warrant awaiting his first court appearance.

According to the release, Meeker County Sheriff's Office received a call at approximately 5:30 p.m. Aug. 1 that a man had threatened to shoot some family members.

The man also made threats to harm law enforcement if they responded, and was reportedly going to go from his residence in the 17300 block of 745th Avenue to a relative’s home nearby, according to the release.

The information from the investigation indicated the man may be in possession of firearms, which he is prohibited from possessing due to an incident that occurred in November of 2020, according to the release.

Responding deputies attempted to contact him, a search warrant was obtained, and the Kandiyohi/Meeker SWAT Team also responded to the scene at approximately 9:15 p.m. Aug. 1.

A perimeter was established and repeated attempts to talk the man out of the home failed. Chemical irritant was projected into the house, but that also failed to get him to cooperate and exit the house, according to the news release.

SWAT teams from McLeod County, Hutchinson Police, Wright County and Willmar Police were called to assist and relieve the initial SWAT team, and attempts to negotiate and bring the situation to a peaceful end continued throughout the day on Aug. 2.

An arrest warrant for felony terroristic threats was obtained on Aug. 2 as well.

Neither the man nor law enforcement were injured during the incident, and the investigation is ongoing. Additional charges may result from the investigation, according to the release.

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Man dies after being found unresponsive in west-central Minnesota jail cell

Forum News Service — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 01:46:46 GMT

LITCHFIELD, Minn. — A Meeker County Jail inmate died Thursday after being found unresponsive.

Brady Lee Schmidt, 28, of Dassel, was found at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in his cell and jail staff attempted life-saving measures, according to a news release from the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office.

Litchfield Rescue Squad and Mayo Ambulance were dispatched to the jail to assist. Schmidt was transported to Meeker Memorial Hospital in Litchfield where he was pronounced dead.

According to the release from Sheriff Brian Cruze, there is no evidence of foul play at this time. Schmidt was in custody awaiting a first court appearance on a second-degree driving while impaired charge.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was called to investigate, and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

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Dassel man killed Sunday night in crash with tractor near Canby

Mark Wasson — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 17:35:08 GMT

CANBY, Minn. — A Dassel, Minnesota, man suffered fatal injuries Sunday night, Sept. 26, after his vehicle collided with a tractor and farm machinery in Norman Township, south of Canby, according to a news release from the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office.

Allen Hanson, 51, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency personnel, according to the release. His vehicle was found in a cornfield following the crash on County Road 36 a half-mile west of Highway 75. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

The driver of the tractor, Keagan Drietz, 27, of Canby, was uninjured, according to the release.

The Sheriff's Office release did not provide a narrative of the crash.

The Canby Police Department, Sanford Canby Ambulance and Canby Fire and Rescue also responded to the incident reported at 8:34 p.m. Sunday.

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Man killed in head-on crash with semi in Meeker County

Forum News Service — Sat, 17 Jul 2021 22:07:53 GMT

DASSEL —A 44-year-old Hutchinson man was killed in a two-vehicle accident early Friday morning south of Dassel when the vehicle he was driving collided head-on with a semi.

The crash was reported at 7:04 a.m. on state Highway 15, just north of Meeker County Road 18 in Collinwood Township.

According to an accident report with the Minnesota State Patrol, the unidentified victim was driving a 2003 Ford Taurus south on Highway 15 when he crossed the center line and struck a 2014 Freightliner semi, driven by Cary Eugene Hansen, 55, of Ames, Iowa, that was going north.

The victim was not wearing a seatbelt, according to the accident report. His identity is expected to be released at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Hansen was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured.

Roads were dry at the time of the incident.

The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene of the crash.

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Minnesota couple arrested after meth, a dozen firearms and a functioning cannon found during search

Linda Vanderwerf / Forum News Service — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 22:12:50 GMT

LITCHFIELD, Minn. — A Dassel couple is facing felony charges after drug task force agents executed an early morning, no-knock warrant Monday morning, Oct. 21.

Bret Bruce Wakefield, 59, and Ramona Jean Wakefield, 56, made their first appearances this week in Meeker County District Court.

Each faces felony charges of first-degree drug sale and first-degree drug possession. Each faces a third gross misdemeanor charge of possessing a firearm as a person who unlawfully uses controlled substances.

Both posted bond and were released Wednesday, each on $25,000 bail with conditions.

The next hearing for Ramona Wakefield is Nov. 19.

The next hearing for Bret Wakefield will be Oct. 31.

According to court records, agents of the CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force executed the no-knock narcotics search warrant shortly before 7 a..m. Monday. Bret Wakefield was found on the main level of the home, and Ramona Wakefield was found upstairs.

According to the criminal complaint, drug paraphernalia and what appeared to be methamphetamine were in plain sight in the home. The substances later tested positive for meth.

Agents also allegedly found a functioning cannon with accessories and a dozen firearms, including rifles, shotguns, a muzzle loader and handguns.

A deeper search yielded what appeared to be a record of past drug transactions, according to the criminal complaint. A total of 52.7 grams of methamphetamine, nearly 2 ounces, was found throughout the house. Another 20.1 grams and more than $1,100 in cash was found in Bret Wakefield’s possession.

Dassel is located about 35 miles south of St. Cloud.

Minnesota couple arrested after meth, a dozen firearms and a functioning cannon found during search

Bret Dakefield

Ramona Wakefield

Minnesota couple arrested after meth, a dozen firearms and a functioning cannon found during search

Bret Dakefield

Ramona Wakefield

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Central Minnesota woman charged with assaults for smashing into ex-boyfriend's vehicle

Tom Cherveny — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 01:16:41 GMT

LITCHFIELD, Minn. - A central Minnesota woman appeared in district court in Litchfield on Wednesday on charges for allegedly smashing her pickup truck into the back of a pickup truck holding her ex-boyfriend, another woman, and their two children.

Desirae Margaret Nelson, 22, of Dassel is charged with four felony charges of assault in the second degree and two misdemeanor charges of domestic assault. She is scheduled to return to court November 7 on the charges.

The complaint alleges that she rammed her pickup into the rear of the pickup truck holding her ex-boyfriend when it in a parking lot along County Road 12 in Litchfield at 11:27 p.m. on November 18, 2017. She allegedly admitted to an officer responding to the accident that she was angry with her ex-boyfriend. She claimed she knew that her ex-boyfriend and the other woman were in the pickup truck, but that she did not see the children.

Her ex-boyfriend described the crash as a forceful collision and said it pushed his pickup truck approximately 25 feet. The other woman and the children reported injuries including cuts and soreness.

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