A 61-year-old Hutchinson man was arrested near the intersection of South Grade Road and State Highway 15 following a short pursuit and assault on a police officer. The incident started when police were called to Menards for a man who assaulted an employee over a disagreement about wearing a mask.
UPDATE: This story has been updated with new information as of 4:04 p.m. Friday, April 16.A dangerous police chase Wednesday on State Highway 15 South in Hutchinson began when a 61-year-old rural Hutchinson man refused to wear a mask in Menards.
The criminal complaint against Luke Alvin Oeltjenbruns alleges that he ignored multiple law enforcement commands and led police on multiple pursuits in the area of the Hutchinson Mall, South Grade Road and Highway 15. The incident culminated in a scene that’s gained national attention, with Oeltjenbruns ramming police vehicles and taking off at a high rate of speed while Hutchinson police officer Steve Sickmann hangs onto the driver’s side door, his arm trapped in the window.
“It’s extremely dangerous. I can only imagine what was going through (Sickmann’s) mind at the time. He could have been killed as a result of this,” Hutchinson Police Chief Tom Gifferson said during a press conference Friday, during which he and McLeod County Sheriff Tim Langenfeld provided more details of the incident.
It began around 1:50 p.m. when police were dispatched to Menards, where Oeltjenbruns, who has no prior criminal record, had refused requests to wear a mask. When told he could not purchase items without a mask, he refused and began to leave the store without paying. Oeltjenbruns then allegedly assaulted an employee who attempted to stop him.
“He actually had pieces of floor trim, and that is what was used,” Langenfeld said. “He jabbed at the employee with a piece of that, and then swung at him. (The employee) was able to get that away, and then (Oeltjenbruns) used his hands. … and assaulted the employee in the head and face area.”
Langenfeld said the employee suffered minor injuries, including bruising and a headache.
Luke Alvin Oeltjenbruns
Sickmann was the responding officer who took the description of Oeltjenbruns and his vehicle from Menards employees, and another officer spotted the vehicle in the Walmart parking lot and attempted to make a traffic stop, leading to a low-speed pursuit around the Hutchinson Mall area.
Oeltjenbruns’ vehicle was first stopped at the corner of South Grade and Highway 15 South with multiple officers present. He refused to comply with instructions and took off south on Highway 15. Sickmann, who was driving from Menards to the scene, saw Oeltjenbruns’ vehicle and positioned his squad car to block Oeltjenbruns in the area of Freemont Avenue and Highway 15. Another squad car then came up behind Oeltjenbruns in an attempt to immobilize him.
Oeltjenbruns allegedly continued to ignore commands from law enforcement, but was speaking to Sickmann through his window, which was partially rolled down. Believing the driver was not going to come out, Sickmann attempted to open the door from inside the vehicle, at which point Oeltjenbruns rolled the window up and trapped the officer’s arm.
“Then he began ramming the vehicles in front of him and behind him, and was able to get his vehicle free from that containment,” Gifferson said.
After ramming through the squad cars, Oeltjenbruns sped north with Sickmann still trapped in the window and standing on the driver’s side running board.
When the vehicle was stopped again at the corner of South Grade and Highway 15, Sickmann freed himself from the window by smashing it with his rescue hammer.
“At that time (Oeltjenbruns) was able to gain possession of the hammer … and struck officer Sickmann on the head,” Gifferson said.
Sickmann was able to get the hammer away from Oeltjenbruns and clear the scene as other officers made the arrest.
Multiple charges for Oeltjenbruns
Sickmann, a 31-year veteran of Hutchinson Police Services, was taken to the hospital and treated for his injuries, which include eight metal staples to the top of his head, as well as severe bruising and abrasions to his arm. He was later released from the hospital and is recovering at home. Gifferson said he recently visited the police station and seems to be in good spirits.
“Steve’s just a modest guy who comes to work and does his job every day, and at the end of the day wants to go home safely,” Gifferson said.
Oeltjenbruns was taken to McLeod County Jail and has been charged with one count of first-degree assault for the assault on Sickmann, two counts of second-degree assault, and one count of fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle. Bail was set Friday at $100,000 cash or $500,000 bond.
Sheriff Langenfeld thanked members of the community for their cooperation, as the sheriff’s office has received video and statements from several witnesses that have aided its investigation.
Gifferson reiterated that he was glad the incident was able to conclude without greater harm to anyone involved, including Oeltjenbruns.
“We just want everybody to go home safely,” Gifferson said. “So we just want to make sure that we’re using the appropriate amount of force and making sure we don’t exceed that.”
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Jon Carrigan steps outside his new office at the Commercial Building on the McLeod County Fairgrounds. He’ll also be spending quite a bit of time in the county’s six parks as he takes over as county director of parks and recreation.
If you spend any time in McLeod County's parks, or even at the Fairgrounds, you may recognize a familiar face. Or at least a familiar voice.
Many locals know the county's new parks and recreation manager Jon Carrigan from his past 32 years in radio, including two decades at KDUZ and KARP. The step into the great outdoors is a career change for the 55-year-old, but not a change to his lifestyle.
"I love the outdoors," he said. "I hunt, fish and camp in the summer. We spend a lot of time at the county parks and camping here in McLeod County. I spend a lot of time in the Fairgrounds also, with the McLeod County Fair and the coaching I continue to do at the youth level."
In fact, it was due to coaching that the position came to Carrigan's attention in the first place. For 20 years he's coached basketball alongside Al Koglin, the county's former parks and recreation manager.
"He told me he was thinking about retiring," Carrigan said. "As soon as I heard about the job opening it piqued my interest. The more I thought about it, the more I knew it would fit my lifestyle."
Carrigan started the job April 5. The following day, he told the McLeod County Board that ever since he applied for the job, it had been on his mind nonstop.
"I have some ideas rolling around my head," he told a reporter. "I don't want to throw them out yet. I need to see if they're feasible. But I do have some changes I'm looking at."
As a proponent of the outdoors, Carrigan wants more people outside using the county's park facilities. He hopes to find a way to extend that activity into the winter months when parks have typically been closed. For now he has a lot of catching up to do. Koglin retired at the beginning of the year, leaving the position open for a few months with other staff members carrying the extra load. Carrigan wants to help get everything back in order.
"That's going to take me probably until late spring, early summer," he surmised.
In the meantime he'll be learning the ropes. He described the parks and recreation manager position as a multi-pronged one, with work extending to grant writing, the county's trail system, and as the intermediary between the county and the University of Minnesota Extension Office and 4-H program. The McLeod County Fairgrounds especially attract a lot of activity.
"There is a lot going on year round," Carrigan said. "It's a busy place."
But what's jumped out at him the most is the warm welcome he's received from the county and from staff in his department.
"They've all been very supportive and have a lot of ideas," Carrigan said. "It seems they are one step ahead of me. By the time I think of something, someone appears in the door with the information I need."
He wants to hear from McLeod County residents as well, and hopes those with ideas will give him a call.
"We welcome public input," Carrigan said.
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This rendering of Park Elementary from the northwest shows a recent iteration of the planned renovation design. To accommodate construction on the renovation and make sure work is done by fall 2022, the 2021-22 school year will end earlier than usual.
The 2021-22 Hutchinson Public Schools calendar looks different than in past years due to changes necessary to accommodate renovations at Park Elementary and West Elementary.
“Our general contractor asked us if we could get out of school by May 20," Superintendent Daron VanderHeiden told the School Board this past week. "It wasn’t possible. ... So the best we could do is May 27. That’s a very early end of the school year for us. But the reason we needed to be out as early as possible is our contractors need access to Park Elementary as early as possible so all of that work is completed by the following fall.”
For students in fourth through 12th grade, all inclement weather days will be digital learning days. For kindergarten through third grade, all such days will be made up starting May 27.
"This is not ideal," VanderHeiden said, noting there isn't room in the calendar for another approach.
The first day of school is Monday, Aug. 30, with no school on Labor Day, Sept. 6. The trimester will end Nov. 23, leading to an unusual week. There is no school Nov. 24-26 due to Thanksgiving. However, students in second and third grade will have no school that entire week, and no school the following Monday, Nov. 29.
"That's going to be the week we move from Park Elementary into the new elementary school," VanderHeiden said. "Our second- and third-grade staff at that time will be packing up their current classrooms."
On Tuesday, Nov. 30, second- and third-grade students will return to school at Tiger Elementary, the new addition at West Elementary. If for some reason the building isn't ready, that would throw a wrench in the schedule. The project is currently on time and on budget, but poor weather can slow work.
On Dec. 22-23 there will be no school for fourth and fifth grade as those classrooms are moved into their new classrooms at Park Elementary. The normal holiday break is Dec. 24-31.
The final student day is May 26, and May 27 is the final work day for teachers. Various holidays and teacher work days are scheduled throughout the year as well.
Representatives from each building helped build the academic calendar in order to make it feasible, and to meet contractual and state requirements.
“When we got done, none of us really liked this calendar," VanderHeiden said. "But it’s necessary because of all the different working parts.”
All told, pre-kindergarten through first grade have 171 learning days. Fourth and fifth grade have 169 learning days. Ninth through 12th grade have 172 learning days. Second and third grade have 168 learning days. Sixth through eighth grade have 171 learning days. Ordinarily, there is a difference of one learning day between primary and secondary grade levels. The year is expected to be "clunky," VanderHeiden said, including with the timing of parent and teacher conferences. Educators hope for a smoother transition than was possible during construction at Hutchinson High School when students learned amidst ongoing renovations.
The 2021-22 schedule can be found online at isd423.org/vidoc/21-22-academic-calendar.
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Rebecca Boll
Duties mandated to public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic and a decline in enrollment complicated an update of the Hutchinson Public Schools' budget this past week.
A break-even budget is expected through June 30, 2021, but looking ahead to next school year, administration is recommending a $700,000 reduction in expenses. The recommendation follows several years of declining enrollment — a reduction of 122 students from 2011 to 2020, which means the school has lost $1.5 million per year in state aid. Though the lower enrollment matched a similar statewide trend, there seemed to have been some stabilization in Hutchinson in 2018 and 2019. However, following the pandemic, the school has seen an additional decline of 184 students whose families had chosen to enroll elsewhere.
The resulting loss of $1.6 million in state revenue for the current school year is mostly covered by a one-time stop gap due to the first round of federal pandemic aid. More federal aid is expected, but at this point it is unclear how that money can be used. School budgets are divided into portions administrators can use as needed, and portions that must only be used for mandated purposes. The district plans to use the second round of federal aid to balance the deficit, along with this latest round of cuts next year as expenses are expected to outpace revenues.
Specific recommendations for reductions are expected to take shape throughout the next month.
"Programs are not anticipated to be impacted," Rebecca Boll, director of business and finance, said in an email. "Positions directly related to executive orders in the current year may be reduced. Additional positions may also be reduced based on lower enrollment projections. If more students enroll by the fall than planned, positions may be brought back over the summer. Additional reductions may fall within student support, transportation, purchase services, supplies and equipment."
During the School Board meeting, Brian Tillmann, president of Education Hutchinson, implored board members to find a way to avoid cuts.
"This is a year we should be focusing on adding counselors ... instead of cutting," he said. "You as a board have to try and convince 184 families to re-choose Hutchinson."
Tillmann said he appreciated the care the district takes to safeguard its finances and longevity, but asked why the district cannot use its fund balance to help stave off cuts. Policy dictates the school maintains at least 14% of its total annual expenses on hand in its fund balance at any given time in case of emergencies. In the past, for instance, the state has delayed payments to schools in order to deal with financial hardship. The district has found a balance of around 20% of its roughly $34 million annual expenses (excluding building projects) is a good target.
Boll acknowledged that there are snapshots in time where the fund balance may seem quite high when compared to policy, such as on June 30, 2015, when it was $8.1 million, or the same time in 2020 when it was $9.1 million. But, she said, at other times it could be as high as $13 million or as low as $5 million. That's because the balance fluctuates constantly as state payments are made to the school district, and as it makes payments to vendors and payroll. While it may appear like a rainy day fund, Boll said, its purpose is to maintain cash flow.
"There is business being done every single day," she said.
Boll said that if the school began to dip into its fund balance and there was then an emergency, such as legislation opting to cut school funding or federal stimulus rules becoming more inhibiting than previously reported, it would place the district in a position where it may have to borrow money to pay its bills. That would mean, going forward, the district is spending money on debt.
"There is a lot of value in having the right amount of money on hand," Boll said.
Board members will discuss budget reduction recommendations at future board meetings, likely next month. In addition to the regular May 10 meeting, there is a May 24 quarterly meeting.
As is always the case when discussing school budgets, facts may change over time. The state mandates school districts pass a budget for the coming school year by July 1, but legislative changes to funding or enrollment figures can shift months later. That's why projections made this time of year are discussed as anticipations or assumptions based on what knowledge is presently available.
