Bangstad Issues Statement Regarding Missed Court Appearance

Minocqua Brewing Company. Image courtesy: WAOW TV

MINOCQUA, WI (WSAU) — Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad says he had dates mixed up, causing him to miss a court appearance on Wednesday.

In a lengthy post to Facebook, Bangstad says he has been required to turn over documents related to his personal finances and the brewery, even though his insurance company is on the hook to pay nearly $760,000 to Lakeland Times Publisher Gregg Walker’s family as part of a defamation case.

Bangstad says he was working at MBC’s Madison location when his lawyer called asking where he was. “My mistake was that I didn’t know that the deposition and the deadline for those documents were all supposed to occur last Wednesday, and since I had planned to plead the 5th amendment to all questions in that deposition because I believe this entire lawsuit to be a political fishing expedition, I didn’t pay much attention to the deposition date.”

He adds that he did offer to make a Zoom appearance, which the judge has allowed for previous dates, but that request was denied. Court records then show that a warrant was proposed, but not signed.

Bangstad also thanked his fans for their support and announced he would t-shirts that say “I’m Kirk Bangstad” so he could “hide among you while being hunted by the Oneida County Sheriff.”

It should be noted that an arrest warrant was never formally issued for Bangstad because the judge did not sign off on the paperwork- meaning he is not wanted for arrest. The case is scheduled for two days of motion hearings on May 22nd and 23rd.