2023 Year in Review: A look back on the top stories in public safety
Dec. 29—WILLMAR
— One thing that can be said about a beat as a public safety reporter is it seems there is always something new to report almost every week, and 2023 was no exception. Here is a run through the top public safety headlines with a crime and courts focus, sprinkled with a few other pieces of news worth revisiting.
Two sisters garnered a lot of attention from our readers after they were sentenced to jail towards the end of the year in 2023.
Debra Kaye Hamborg, 61, of
Sunburg,
and her sister Annette Marie Dingman, 60, of
Benson,
each pleaded guilty to four felony counts of theft Oct. 26 after it was discovered Hamborg had stolen a large amount of money during her time as a treasurer for an area church and township.
Hamborg deposited two cashier's checks after her plea hearing on Sept. 1, totaling $99,641.88 of the $102,882.11 of restitution owed to both the Sunburg Free Lutheran Church and Norway Lake Township. Hamborg had helped maintain financial accounts for both.
In addition to jail and restitution, both women were ordered to serve five years of probation. A presumptive 12-month sentence in prison was stayed for that five-year period, per Minnesota's sentencing guidelines. Neither will serve the prison time if they are compliant with probation.
Longtime sheriff's deputy Josh Owen
was shot and killed April 15, 2023,
on his 44th birthday, as he and two other law officers responded to a domestic abuse incident in the small town of Cyrus.
Thousands of law enforcement officers
attended a funeral service on April 22 in Glenwood,
representing the full spectrum of agencies in the state and more. There was a squad car from Saginaw, Michigan, where Owen was born, and an ambulance from Chetek, Wisconsin, where two officers were killed in the line of duty prior to Owen's death.
Owen had served the Pope County Sheriff's Office for nearly 12 years.
Along with his wife and son, Owen is survived by his mother, Kathy Yarns of Prior Lake, father Daniel Owen of Saginaw, Michigan, and brother Matthew of Prior Lake.
Two area teachers previously named in the West Central Tribune's reporting regarding pending criminal charges are in two different positions regarding allegations against them.
In December of 2022 the Tribune named Roger Joseph Ebnet, of Benson, after he made his first appearance in Swift County District Court in December of 2022
for allegedly having sexual contact with three male students in his classroom.
Ebnet was charged with three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. His attorney successfully argued, in part, for a change of venue due to the publicity the case has received. Pre-trial and trial hearings for Ebnet will be held in Meeker County according to a court order. Ebnet is currently released on conditional bail. His next scheduled hearing is set for March 1, 2024, in Swift County District Court.
On the other end of that spectrum,
a felony charge of criminal sexual conduct was dismissed
against a former Willmar teacher due to lack of evidence. Lisa Jean Donner, of New London, was charged after a former male student reported that she had inappropriately touched him during the 2012-2013 school year. The boy was 15 when he reported the incidents in 2021.
However, motions filed by Donner's attorney revealed new evidence that the boy had previously made false reports regarding physical and sexual abuse, and county attorneys opted to dismiss the criminal case.
A man was
found dead with an apparent stab wound in downtown Montevideo
in September.
The man would eventually be identified as Mitchell Twite, a local bartender in Montevideo. A
candlelight vigil in his memory
was held the day after Twite's body was discovered. Authorities have not said much on the matter other than that it is still an ongoing investigation and they believe there is no threat to the public.
In more positive news, Willmar community members have also stepped up in big ways to leave an impact.
Willmar police officers also showcased their dedication to service and helping others when they
saved a man's life at the Minnesota State Fair.
Sgt. Samuel Schaefbauer and Officer Timothy Wallace were credited with their swift actions after a fairgoer waved them down and said a man had collapsed. The officers responded within seconds after a 71-year-old Minneapolis man suffered a medical emergency.
Wallace and Schaefbauer took turns performing chest compressions on the man until additional officers arrived. The man was admitted at a nearby hospital for treatment, where doctors credited the actions of the good Samaritan and the two Willmar police officers for saving the man's life.
