Wisconsin
‘Hero’ 12-year-old boy shot and killed bear as it attacked his father in Wisconsin, report says
A 12-year-old boy saved his father, who was pinned down by a 200-pound bear while legally hunting in the “super thick” woods in Wisconsin earlier this month, according to a report.
A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation officer confirmed the gut-wrenching bear encounter involving 43-year-old Ryan Beierman and his son, Owen, with the Minnesota Star Tribune.
The incident occurred on Sept. 6 by their cabin located near Siren, a village about 93 miles from Minneapolis, during an afternoon hunting trip for the father-son duo. Ryan detailed his account with the newspaper.
While in a tree stand over a bait station, Owen spotted, shot, and struck the bear. However, it reportedly fled the area. About 20 minutes later, they started to track it down, using their neighbor’s chocolate Labrador for assistance. During their search into the night, the dog saw the bear and retreated.
“I reached for my sidearm initially hoping to scare the bear away with a warning shot,” Ryan said in an interview with the Tribune. “He was only 5 to 6 feet away, point blank. As he charged, I shot to kill. I shot eight times but missed. I had no time, and I never got the gun high enough to use the sights.”
During the struggle, the father said he started pistol-whipping the bear. Ryan noted that he and the bear were fighting to survive. The animal bit his arm and forehead with its teeth.
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12-year-old son killed the bear, report says
At one point, Owen grabbed his rifle and fatally shot the aggressive animal, the report said.
“I was flat on my back and could feel the bullet go through the bear,” Ryan told The Tribune. “Owen was a hero. He shot that bear and killed it on top of me.”
“Owen had been incredibly composed and helped me find my glasses. I can’t really see without them and they were under the bear. I was confused about our location, so I pulled out my phone to look at my compass,” he continued. “My left cheek was sliced open and blood was oozing out of the flap. There were two fang marks in my forehead and my face was smattered with blood. My phone didn’t recognize my face so I punched the code to open it.”
Neighbors helped him out of the woods and took him to a nearby hospital, where he received 23 stitches. He suffered several injuries to his face, right arm, and leg, according to the report.
After the entire ordeal, Ryan described the experience as “a wild ride.” USA TODAY reached out to Ryan for comment.
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@gannett.com.
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
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Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
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